


ECHOES

by vanhunks



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 09:07:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6747745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanhunks/pseuds/vanhunks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Years after Voyager was pulled towards a spatial rift and Kathryn Janeway slipped through the temporal inversion fold, they approach a spatial rift again. This time they are prepared. Or are they really? Will all hell break loose?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An introduction
> 
> In 2008 I wrote a vignette called "Echo" of just over 500 words. This little story was written in response to the Writing Extravaganza Challenge on VAMB [Voyager Angel Message Board]. The writer had to take a non-traditional J/C episode and rewrite it to make it J/C. 
> 
> I chose the episode "NON SEQUITUR", the one in which Harry Kim is accidentally shunted into another universe where he meets his fiancéé Libby, meets Tom Paris and Cosimo. I reworked events so that KATHRYN JANEWAY was the one going through the space-time matrix. 
> 
> There was some speculation at the time whether I would write a full fic around these circumstances. Here is the story "ECHOES". I included in this new story the original vignette with minor changes and continued it. 
> 
> This story is a novella, in seven chapters. The original vignette appears here as Chapter 1:"Preamble". 
> 
> This story jumps between characters of two Voyager vessels of two different universes. The characters appearing in the story also appear as their mirror counterparts. I have named the Voyager of "our" timeline "VOYAGER PRIME" and Voyager of the mirror timeline "ALTERNATE VOYAGER" so readers can determine who is who!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: Paramount owns Janeway, Chakotay, Voyager characters and Cosimo, that space-hopping alien. 
> 
> Acknowledgement: Mary Stark.

* * *

 

CHAPTER 1: PREAMBLE 

  **Alpha Quadrant - Sector 001 Grid 325 - San Francisco, Earth [Timeline jump]**

 Kathryn woke up, as if emerging from a dream it seemed. Her surroundings felt familiar, yet strange, cloaking her in intimacy and mystery. She blinked several times as she looked around in confusion. The room felt hers but it wasn't hers. She caressed the smooth ivory sheets that covered her loosely, frowning heavily at the strangeness.

 She wore a nightgown with thin straps that clung gently to the swell of her breasts. 

 The room was large, airy, one wall fitted entirely with glass. She touched her forehead, moaned and fell back against the pillow. Where was she? This was not her quarters on Voyager, surely. Only now did she hear sounds, like water running. A shower? Who was there? Then the sound stopped, a door opened, closed.

 Approaching footsteps… She sat up, her heart beating fast.

 The next moment she saw him standing in the doorway. Kathryn gasped.

 "Chakotay?"

 He walked towards her with slow, hesitant steps, his expression shocked. His lips turned white, his eyes dark, filled with ageless sorrow.

 "It cannot be…" he whispered with so much pain in his voice.

 "Where am I?" she asked.

 "Nicole, my beloved… How…?" 

 Chakotay reached the bed, sat down beside Kathryn and held her shoulders with hands that trembled.

 "I am not - " she tried to say.

 "Your ship, Nicole," he cut in with anguish, "we lost Voyager in the Badlands almost two years ago… There - there was a memorial service…"

 "No, my name is - "

 "Nicole, my beloved wife!" Chakotay cried out. "Have you come to haunt me?"

 *

  **Thirty six hours later…**

Kathryn fingered the circular temporal disc gingerly. Her heart raced. If this didn't work, she could be cast into another dimension, thousands of years into the future or the past or she could find herself back on Voyager. The last thirty six hours had been a mad dash to determine what had happened. She remembered her shuttle, that her time stream had intersected the temporal inversion fold in the space-time matrix, throwing her into this reality, so familiar, yet all she wanted to do was return to Voyager.

 Getting back meant stealing the runabout Yellowstone designed by Larry Byrd, to be piloted by Thomas Paris. The Tom Paris of this universe had never served on Voyager. She had been told that Voyager was piloted by Nick Locarno, a once disgraced senior academy cadet.

 It meant the man standing before her was risking his whole career for her sake. From the moment Admiral Chakotay decided to help her, the gleam of determination had been constantly in his eyes.

 "My life will mean nothing if I cannot help you find your way to your ship…your reality, Kathryn…"

 He'd used his high level clearance overrides despite the fact that he knew he'd be monitored. But Chakotay was ready for anything, would be prepared to go to any length "because you are the mirror of Nicole, with all her goodness, Kathryn.." he told her.

 It hadn't taken her long to convince him of her identity.

 "You're identical," Chakotay had said sadly. "Yet you're not. Nicole is left-handed…" He had held her hand in his and had stared intently at her ringless finger.

 A mirror identical, she realised.

 Their journey to this point, where she was ready to recreate the conditions of the accident that had brought her to this San Francisco, assisted by an alien called Cosimo, had been fraught with cunning and adventure, the urgency to find a way back to her people, her ship Voyager, the undercurrent that drove her forward.

 Kathryn looked at the man standing before her. A gentle man, so familiar with his tattoo that her heart bled with longing. There'd been times she had wanted to throw herself against him and simply weep for what she feared she was losing. But he was not hers. His Nicole and Voyager had pursued a notorious Maquis cell leader into the Badlands. He was from Dorvan, but had remained in Starfleet. He was already an admiral, his wife, Nicole Janeway, the captain of Voyager, with Magnus Rollins her first officer.

 It was time to say goodbye to this Chakotay.

 "You said she's like me, Chakotay. Then I tell you Nicole Janeway will find a way home."

 In the last thirty six hours she had come to know this man, a man who believed her, who comforted her when she despaired of getting home, who helped her at great risk to his own career. They were being pursued, she knew, yet Chakotay had assured her that they would believe his explanation. She had told him to keep believing that Nicole was alive, out there.

 She had told him that Chakotay on her Voyager was a Maquis, a notorious cell leader she had been sent to capture. Her Chakotay was now her best friend and first officer. In her heart she knew now that on her ship waited a man cut from the finest cloth in the universe, just like the man standing before her.

 For the first time Chakotay's smile reached his eyes. He looked at peace, she thought.

 "Captain Janeway," she heard the voice of Tom Paris, whom she’d traced to a tavern in Marseilles, "we have to hurry. Security has been alerted…"

 She gave him a solemn nod. This Tom Paris had flunked life, yet here he was, willing to die for a cause not his own, because in true Dickensian style, it would be a far better thing he'd be doing than he had ever done. That was the resolve she'd seen in his eyes, his whole bearing. She'd told him that the way she knew his father, Admiral Paris was ready to forgive his son.

 She turned her gaze on Chakotay, his features, the little smile that lit up his face so familiar that she experienced that deep ache again.

 "Chakotay…Nicole will return to you…"

 "Kathryn," he began, pulling her closer to him, his hands gripping her shoulders, his eyes filled with peace, "please tell your Commander Chakotay he is a very, very lucky man to have you by his side…"

 She threw herself against him and hugged him fiercely. When she stood back, her eyes swam with tears.

 "I will tell him how lucky I am. Now more than ever, he needs to know how I feel…"

 ***************** 

END PREAMBLE

 chapter 2 to follow.


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

 

**Delta Quadrant Prime - Sector 474,  Grid 130**

 Space, Chakotay thought, really was the final frontier, as one great explorer had once said. James T. Kirk was right. They touched infinity, going where no human had gone before. Voyager's viewscreen allowed them an endless view of the sectors they were traveling. They'd been hurled into the farthest regions of the Delta Quadrant and had charted what had been uncharted, never before seen or touched by humans or more correctly, space travelers from Earth. Today as he stared at the dark expanse, space looked to him to be clear, benign, with no hint of danger lurking in the next nebula. It was hard to believe they were on yellow alert, maintaining low warp with Voyager's shields up.

 Seven of Nine had been succinct when she declared that Sector 474 in grid 130 was unstable, that there was evidence of a spatial variance which could create a temporal flux, that they had to be on the alert.

 Kathryn had listened intently then replied with, "Thank you, Seven. We'll maintain yellow alert while we're in this sector." Then she'd given Seven, Tom and Harry instructions to investigate alternate routes.

 That was yesterday. Last night in their quarters they had discussed Seven's message. It was their usual downtime after Alpha shift. The past few months they had had a relatively quiet period and Tom had maintained a steady warp six.

 "Whenever I hear temporal anomaly, I get concerned, Chakotay," Kathryn had said.

 "I know. I remember the time Tom and Tuvok were pulled into the gravity well."

 "They were gone two months but for us it was about two days. And what about that time when my shuttle went through a fold in the space time matrix?"

 Kathryn's voice had trailed off. She seemed suddenly far away, troubled perhaps by a distant memory, or an echo of a memory. For a moment he was sorry that she’d brought up the subject. In an effort to somehow soften the memory, he cupped her cheek gently.

 "You came back and declared your love for me…"

 She gave him a pained, heated look and threw herself against him. They'd remained in close embrace, with Kathryn nuzzling his neck from time to time.

 Almost five years ago Kathryn had taken a shuttle - the Sacajaweya - on a short excursion to a nebula. What they didn't know was that she'd flown almost directly into a space fracture and they'd struggled for almost an hour to get her back. Like voices of hikers lost on a misty mountain, they'd kept calling her until eventually, fifty nine minutes later, she’d reappeared as suddenly as she had vanished. She'd slipped through a temporal inversion fold in the space-time matrix. Although it had been about an hour for them, in her time and universe she'd been gone almost thirty six hours.

She'd returned, ashen-faced. For hours after that she'd been quiet, staring at him as if he were someone else, as if she was looking right through him at another person. He had a strange sensation then that she was searching for confirmation in an expression that seemed to say, "It is you…"  He'd allowed her the penetrating gaze, waiting until she was ready to speak to him. He'd been only her colleague, friend and  sometime mentor then, a man who'd kept his love for her close in his heart, loving her without reciprocation. He had known that she would share her experiences with him only when she felt ready.

 "We're glad to have you back, Captain," he'd reassured her.

 Later, after Alpha shift she'd come to his quarters. Her tale was extraordinary.

 "I found myself in a strange bed and a strange room with an entire wall fitted with glass. Lots of light. But it was as if I'd slept a full night and was bleary eyed, tired and confused, feeling like I'd just woken from a deep sleep. Only it wasn't my quarters and I knew that I had been in my shuttle only minutes before that…"

 "It must have been disconcerting. Being momentarily unable to know exactly where you were."

 "Yes. It didn't look like my apartment, yet there was a familiar feel about it. It was very perplexing."

 Chakotay had remained quiet while she spoke, but he could see how the experience - whatever it was that she'd experienced - had troubled her. Kathryn's eyes had remained bleak, almost sad and that sadness had touched him too. His heart seemed caught in his throat as he waited for her to resume her strange story.

 "Then I heard water running," she'd continued. "Like a shower. Light was streaming through the wide window and with the sound of water running I could also hear the sound of flitters flying at low altitude. I couldn't move, so I remained in bed. I was wearing a satin night gown with thin straps. I felt strange in it. It wasn't mine…"

 "Spirits, Kathryn. You must have experienced quite a shock."

 "Yes. Then the water stopped. He…appeared."

 "Who?"

 "He had the saddest eyes I'd ever seen. Full of sorrow. He - he appeared so shocked. Shock, disbelief, and deep, deep grief in his eyes…"

 "Kathryn…who are you talking about?"

 "Chakotay. It was Chakotay."

 "Chakotay? Me?"

 "Yes. No, not…you, yet it was… He looked so stunned when he saw me sitting up in bed. Then he called me 'Nicole'."

 "Nicole…Janeway?"

 "He cried out, 'Nicole, my beloved wife, have you come to haunt me?'"

 Kathryn had remained deeply pensive as she quoted that Chakotay's words. Then, "He thought I was his wife Nicole."

 "You were in another universe…"

 "I tried explaining, and when I finally got through to him, he told me that his Nicole had been sent to the Badlands to capture a notorious Maquis leader, that they'd been gone two years, believed dead. There - there was a memorial service for the crew of Voyager, he told me. He also said Nicole was left-handed…"

 "And you're right-handed."

 "He noticed I was not wearing a wedding band. Once he realised I was not his wife, he decided to help me get back to the space time matrix."

 "Why wasn't he on Voyager?"

 "He was an admiral, based at Starfleet."

 "Oh? And the…notorious Maquis leader?"

"Didn't say. Strange, that he didn't mention who Nicole Janeway was pursuing. Anyway, from that moment, we were in a mad dash against time to get me to the correct co-ordinates. He risked his life and his career…for me…"

 Chakotay's heart had gone out to a lonely man in another universe who had lost his wife, or thought her to be dead. With Kathryn's appearance in his time and space, it must have given him some comfort that all might not be lost after all. Being there was real evidence that, like Kathryn, Nicole Janeway was charting her way home in her Voyager, leading her crew with the same strength of will and courage.

 "I'm glad to have my Captain Janeway back."

 "Chakotay…"

 Her voice had sounded strained. He’d noted the light shifting in her eyes. She looked different, the air of efficiency, strength and constant decision-making replaced by something new, something he'd never seen before, although her eyes had remained sad, he remembered thinking.

 "What is it?" he'd asked. His heart had suddenly missed a beat.

 "Admiral Chakotay," she began, "he was grieving for his wife. Even as he helped me get to my time and universe, the sadness never left his eyes. He loved her desperately. I told him not to lose faith, that his Nicole will find her way back to him. He gave me a message to give to you…"

 Kathryn's voice had trailed off suddenly, but he'd waited for her to speak again.

 "He said that I should tell you that you're a very lucky man, Chakotay."

 "I am," he said, smiling, relieved that she'd sounded stronger and not so haunted. Kathryn wasn't finished.

 "I told him I would tell you that I am a very lucky woman."

 He'd been touched by her words, the closest she'd come to an open declaration of something more than just friendship. Still, he'd been hesitant then to make a move for fear of sending her back behind her wall of resolve.

 "At least," he reassured her, "we are together."

 "You don't understand."

 "Then enlighten me, Kathryn."

 "I realised how I couldn't let another second go by without telling you how I feel. Time and life are too short. I - I love you, Chakotay, as I am sure you love me too. Admiral Chakotay made me realise that."

 They'd sat in close embrace for many minutes after her amazing admission, each thinking of a lonely man in another universe who'd helped Kathryn come back to her own people, who inspired her to be unafraid to share her true feelings. He'd felt desperately sorry for that Chakotay whose Nicole was lost, presumed dead. Yet Kathryn had managed to give him hope, hope that Nicole Janeway would return to him one day.

 If there had been memorial services for their loved ones in Nicole Janeway's universe, then there was reason to presume that the same had happened in their own timeline.

 It was a sobering thought, one tempered only by the fact that he and Kathryn were now together, that they had been married soon after Kathryn's remarkable experience, a union that had the blessing of the entire crew.

 ******

 And as space remained a frontier that invited exploration, it also reminded him, as he emerged from his reverie and gazed at the dark expanse, how the dangers it presented were many and unexpected.

 Suddenly Voyager shuddered for a few seconds which had the captain on her feet almost instantly. The vessel dropped out of warp. Tom's hands flew furiously over the conn.

 "What was that?" Janeway asked. Chakotay also rose from his chair and stood next to her. There was nothing in the distance.

 "We're being pulled by an invisible tow truck," Tom quipped, reversing thrusters while Voyager continued to shudder.

 "Mr Kim?"

 "I'm picking up some disturbance on long range sensors, Captain. Seven of Nine was right. Two hundred thousand kilometers dead ahead."

 Tuvok was in agreement. "A space fracture which resembles a harmless nebula."

 "Pull us back, Tom, now!"

 "All I can do is hold Voyager steady. I need more power, Captain."

 "Engineering to Bridge," they heard B'Elanna voice.

 "Janeway here. What's happening down there, B'Elanna?"

 "The warp core is destabilising. What's happening out there? I'm about to blow a few fuses here. I can fix it, but could use an extra hand..."

 "You'll have it. Chakotay, take the bridge. I'm going down to Engineering. Tom, you'll have the extra power to keep us from going in there…"

 Chakotay nodded, smiling as Kathryn squeezed his arm in a gentle caress.

 "Still feeling off kilter?" she asked softly.

 "Don't worry about me. Right now we have an engine to fix and power to reroute…"

 Chakotay watched her leave before settling back in the command chair. The past few hours he'd been feeling slightly sick although it wasn't serious enough to warrant a visit to sickbay. This morning he'd woken up to a pair of blue-grey eyes full of concern.

 "You've been dreaming, Chakotay. You cried out my name."

 Try as he might, he couldn't remember anything of the dream. It was as if someone had whispered into his consciousness, a whisper that receded as he reached wakefulness. He'd gotten up and showered at 0500, long before he had to go on duty. He'd been unable to relax completely afterwards, aware of Kathryn's concerned glances.

 "Commander," Harry Kim's voice penetrated his thoughts, "I'm picking up something on long range sensors." Harry appeared a little perplexed when two heads turned and two pairs of eyes met his gaze. "Uh…Commander Chakotay."

 Tuvok turned and concentrated again on the viewscreen.

 "Can you identify the source?" Chakotay asked, frowning as he felt the same flutters in his chest that he'd experienced earlier. His heart suddenly raced.

 "I don't get it, Commander. I picked up that signal twenty seconds ago, yet the time calculated is forty seconds…"

 Only last night they'd been talking about space fractures with a temporal variance. Seven of Nine had been right in warning them.

 "A fracture?" he asked Harry.

 "Not certain, Commander. It's not visible yet."

 "Tom, can you - ?"

 "We're being dragged towards it. I need more power."

 Just as Chakotay was hoping that there would be progress made in Engineering, Kathryn arrived on the bridge.

 "Tom, pull us back," she barked.

 "Trying my best, Captain," Tom said as Tuvok resumed his duty at Security.

 Kathryn glanced at Chakotay, frowning. "Are you alright?"

 "I'm not sure…what is happening. It'll pass. Don't worry."

 She patted his hand, her eyes suddenly glued to the viewscreen. "I think I know," she whispered. "It's a temporal displacement in the space-time matrix, perhaps the same as the one we encountered five years ago…"

 Kathryn rose, moving to stand just behind Tom Paris. "Tom?"

 "Captain, I'm trying. We're stuck like glue."

 "Hold your position, for whatever that's worth," Janeway said. Then she hit her commbadge. "Janeway to Engineering… B'Elanna, reroute all power to the navigational systems. You have five minutes!"

 "Captain, I can give you ten - "

 "Make it five, B'Elanna."

 "Captain - !"

 But Janeway had already closed communication and was making her way again to the turbolift. Chakotay watched her go, then settled back in the command chair. He was worried. The last time Kathryn had been gone in her shuttle for almost a full hour. What would happen if the entire ship was suddenly shunted into another universe? How would they get back? He stared at the expanse, his earlier thoughts of a benign space coming back to him. It looked innocent, yet there lurked danger.

 It couldn't have been more than five minutes later when Tom gave a sudden yelp of delight.

 "Tom!"

 "I'm on it, Commander. I can take us a full fifty thousand kilometers back." The vessel gave a lurch as Tom engaged thrusters and tugged Voyager free.

 "Commander, I detect a fissure, one hundred thousand kilometers away - "  Harry's voice sounded very nearly like awe. Chakotay realised how all senior officers worked in synch to get Voyager out of trouble.

 "Were we that close to the fracture?" he asked.

 "Affirmative."

 "We need some more distance between us. We're not taking any chances. Tom!"

 "I'm on it, Commander."

 In the distance Chakotay detected the faint outline of a fissure, appearing like an uneven crack in a wall. He gave a sigh of relief that Kathryn and B'Elanna had managed to divert power to the navigation systems. They were safe for now. Seven of Nine was ready to give them alternative routes out of the sector. Otherwise they'd would've had to make a complete about turn and travel through other sectors. They'd lose a few months, but ultimately, they'd still be in their own version of the Delta Quadrant.

 They'd hardly eased a further fifty thousand kilometres away from the fissure when the crack yawned briefly.   A blip appeared on the horizon. Chakotay's stomach lurched as he watched a vessel drop out of warp.

 "What the…?"

 He rose, moving to stand behind Tom Paris, just as Kathryn had done earlier.

 "A vessel," Tom said.

 "I can see that," Chakotay replied. "Red alert!" he barked suddenly. It could be a hostile entity; he was taking precautions.

 "Commander, the vessel bears Federation signatures."

 "Impossible. The Equinox was destroyed."

 Yet it was possible that more Federation starships could have been shunted into the Delta Quadrant like they had been. They had encountered none except the Equinox, but that ship had been in their own timeline. 

 The vessel appearing like a faint blip emerged abruptly from the fissure, indicating that they'd entered from another dimension.

 "Give us a closer view of the vessel, Harry."

 Chakotay watched, as he knew everyone on the bridge was watching, as the vessel zoomed into view.  He went ice cold, felt his legs buckling under him. With superhuman strength he kept himself upright as the sound whooshed from his chest… It looked familiar. Too familiar. The smooth lines of her spoon shaped hull, her nacelles…an Intrepid class Federation starship.

 "Voyager…"

 He wished for a minute that Kathryn was on the bridge. His mouth felt dry. He had a sudden, raging thirst.

 "A reflection?" someone asked.

 "No…it is us…" he replied, remembering what he and Kathryn had talked about only last night. "Hail them, Harry."  

 His mouth still felt like he’d swallowed sand, yet his curiosity somehow absorbed his earlier nausea and trepidation.

 Harry Kim entered a few commands, then, "The aperture! It just closed! It's gone!"

 "They're trying to hail us, Commander," Tom Paris said, turning round to look at Chakotay. There wasn't time to digest the fact that there was no way that ship could go back the same way before it dropped out of warp on their doorstep.

 "On screen," Chakotay commanded. He stood, hands on his hips.

 Seconds later they saw the bridge of the other Voyager and the surprised faces of the senior crew. But it was the captain's face that stared transfixed at Chakotay that caught him off guard. She appeared pale, ashen faced, just like Kathryn when she’d returned from the alternate Earth.

 "C-Chakotay…?"

 A sudden sense of déjà vu overcame him as he almost blurted, "How do you know my name?" An image of him on the Liberty asking Kathryn that very question.

 "I am Commander Chakotay, First Officer of the Federation Starship Voyager."

 He waited for her to respond. She was his Kathryn, down to the length of her hair that bobbed gently against her neck. Even her distress mimicked Kathryn the way she’d looked five years ago.

 "Spot the difference," Tom quipped. He was looking straight at the other Voyager's helmsman, his double who gave him a sardonic smile. "I'm nicer..."

 Chakotay had no time for banter as he waited for the captain to speak. She had recovered her composure and was smiling at him, the corner of her mouth lifting in such a familiar gesture that he felt a sudden deep burn in his chest. Despite her smile, her eyes looked sad.

 "I am Captain Nicole Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager."

 Chakotay wondered for a moment whether it was the same Nicole Janeway, wife of Admiral Chakotay, the man who had helped Kathryn five years ago. Her initial distress was enough to convince him that it was the same person.

 "Captain Janeway," he began, "we detected that space fracture just in time to avoid going through it. We were one hundred and fifty thousand kilometers away from it before it disappeared."

 "We seem to have no way of returning to our universe, Commander...Chakotay..."

 Then suddenly communication closed and her face vanished from the viewscreen. Chakotay looked around him at the faces of the other senior officers. Harry looked sick. Chakotay felt for him. He was not their original Harry, but one from the duplicate Voyager they’d encountered after being attacked by the Vidiians.

 Tom Paris gave him a look, then his eyes narrowed. "That helmsman, Commander, is not me."

 "Of course it's not you. You are here. He is a duplicate of you," Tuvok said, his eyebrow lifting.

 "No, you don't understand. It's not a duplicate. That's someone else who looks like me..."

 "We'll let that go for now, Paris," Chakotay said, swinging round when the turbolift doors opened and Kathryn strode towards him.

 "Chakotay, report."

 "A Voyager from another universe, with a Captain Nicole Janeway."

 "Nicole Janeway? Chakotay, you don't think it's the same Nicole?" Kathryn whispered,

 "I can tell you she looked spooked when she saw me," he said.

 "What are the odds - ?"

 "Right now?  It's the same Nicole, Kathryn. If she looked so shocked to see me, I guess it means her Chakotay is the admiral based at Headquarters... She does not expect to see her husband on the bridge of a starship somewhere in the Delta Quadrant."

 "Captain, you're being hailed," Harry said firmly. He too, had regained his composure.

 "I'll take it in my ready room," she responded, already moving swiftly in that direction.

 ****

 

END CHAPTER 2


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

 

**On the ALTERNATE VOYAGER**

Nicole Janeway sat down in her command chair the second she ordered Harry Kim to close communication, then rubbed her temple in a tired gesture. They'd been pulled towards the aperture when they realised it was too late to take evasive action. Somehow the fracture had remained invisible to detection until they'd run unsuspectingly into it. Now they were trapped in a universe not their own.

 She looked around her at her senior officers. Magnus looked inscrutable as always, never giving away his true feelings. But she knew what he was thinking. He was her best friend on Voyager, one in whom she could sometimes confide, share with him her own despair, her loneliness in missing her husband, a man she had just seen on the bridge of the other ship. Chakotay in that universe was on Voyager as its first officer. Her husband was on Earth.

 In the seven years they had traveled from the Ocampan homeworld, plotting routes home, shearing off a few light-years here and chunks there, it had been a journey fraught with all kinds of danger. They would be home in twenty three years. Once, five years ago, they'd thought they'd communicated with Earth, but it turned out to be just another wild goose chase. By now they were probably all presumed dead and their loved ones had moved on. Maybe they’d even held memorial services for Voyager and her crew. They did that after the obligatory two years…

 Now they were trapped, with no means of finding their way back to their time and space. She sighed. This was just another trial they had to overcome. Seeing Chakotay on the bridge of the other vessel didn't help her hard won equilibrium.

 "Captain…"

 She looked up at Rollins.

 "I haven't felt this helpless in a long time, Magnus."

 "We've been through too many seemingly impossible situations, Captain. We'll get through this one too," he said, giving her a quirky smile.

 "What?" She frowned when she noticed his expression.

 "Commander Chakotay seems as imperious as someone I know back on Earth."

 Nicole felt the old melancholy swamp her. Sometimes she missed him so fiercely…especially when… She shook her head to dispel the brief desperate longing for her husband and returned Magnus's smile.

 "He does look…so familiar. It was a shock seeing him. I imagined…well, I don't know what the hell I imagined."

 "Maybe he was the Maquis their Captain Janeway was sent to capture."

 "That's one possibility. Our timelines are definitely different. Expect to experience that same difference…"

 "Or different difference."

 "Magnus, you give me a headache!"

 Then the helmsman turned to look at her. Nicole couldn't help but smile at the expression on his face. On the other Voyager, his counterpart had had a surprised look in his eyes.

 "What is it?" she asked him.

 "My double seems baffled, Captain. I think I saw him mouth the words 'I'm nicer…'"

 "I know."

 Nicole rose to her feet. She looked at each of her senior officers in turn before she spoke. "I understand it must seem strange to you. We're in another universe, with another Voyager. Unfortunately for us, we're in their space and we need to get back to ours." She looked at Magnus Rollins and continued, "I need you on the bridge, Commander." Then she turned to her young operations officer. "Harry, join Seven of Nine in the Astrometrics lab and work on finding another fold in the space-time matrix. The one we came through must surely have morphed and is bound to show itself somewhere else. I don't care how far away it is or more importantly, when it will happen, but find it."

 "Tuvok, maintain red alert."

 "Nicole…" Magnus said in a whisper, "we need to communicate with the other vessel. Perhaps they can help us."

 Nicole gave him a pained look and nodded. It meant she'd have to meet Commander Chakotay. Seeing his face on the viewscreen had shocked her deeply. It was so sudden. She hadn’t seen the captain on the bridge and wondered whether it was Nicole Janeway and whether they were also married. Their destinies had obviously developed differently. Her husband was on Earth, an admiral, a good man who most likely thought his wife had died. Another shaft of pain tore through her. What if he had found another love? Then she remembered his words at Deep Space Nine, when he'd said goodbye to her. "I will love you forever, Nicole." There had been a strange, ominous ring about the way he'd said it. Did he sense then that he'd never see her again? Did any of the other families experience the same?

 Nicole realised she'd been staring blankly at Magnus Rollins while thinking about the past. She patted his shoulder.

 "I'll be in my ready room. I'll make arrangements."

 "Aye, Captain."

 ****

  **On VOYAGER PRIME**

 Kathryn Janeway sat down and switched on her vid-com. When the other Janeway's face appeared, Kathryn smiled. She was not surprised to see Nicole Janeway.

 "I am Nicole Janeway," the other Janeway said.

 "We differ in our names, at least," Kathryn said. "My name is Kathryn Janeway."

 Nicole Janeway's eyes widened for an instant in pleasant surprise. The corner of her mouth lifted as she smiled in acknowledgement. Then she became business-like again.

 "Captain Janeway," she began, "we detected the space fracture too late. We were almost on top of it before we realised it was there. The fissure has closed behind us. We are trapped."

 Kathryn thought how their own engine problems had actually saved them, as well as Seven of Nine's timely warning. They were a hundred and fifty thousand kilometers away from where the fissure had appeared and mysteriously closed. Her counterpart seemed to have had no such luck.

 "We need to find the exact time when the next fissure will appear - " Nicole said.

 "If it will, Captain. I don't want to raise your hopes." Kathryn knew that right now Seven of Nine and her team of stellar cartographers were busy scouring the sector to find the time and place of the next opening.

 "My team of engineers are on it, Captain Janeway," Nicole stated. "I have a very capable chief engineer. Her name is - "

 "B'Elanna Torres."

 Nicole smiled. "Of course. There's a Lieutenant Torres on board your vessel. They are working round the clock to find a solution. Meanwhile, we happen to be in your space..."

 Kathryn looked pensive for as moment, then, as if she remembered something, said, "All may not be lost, Captain - "

 "Please, call me Nicole."

 "Then call me Kathryn."

 "You do not seem surprised to see me, Captain Janeway. I find that…hopeful."

 "We were once attacked by the Vidiians when our ships were deadlocked and split into two. Did you…?"

 Although Nicole Janeway nodded, she looked unconvinced by Kathryn's explanation. Kathryn thought Nicole sensed or even possibly recognised her. She couldn't reveal knowledge of Nicole Janeway and Admiral Chakotay across communication lines. Time travel and tumbling into the universe next door  probably gave her as much of a headache as it did Kathryn.

 Then there was the matter of Chakotay - the common bond between the two women. Kathryn knew Nicole was probably haunted by the image of Voyager's First Officer. Kathryn's speculation was right on the button when Nicole Janeway spoke again.

 "You have a first officer…"

 "Commander Chakotay. He was the notorious Maquis cell leader I was sent to capture. Then he saved my life."

 "That sounds like Chakotay to me," Nicole said, the sadness in her eyes deepening. "I was sent to capture B'Elanna Torres. She turned out to be the best engineer I ever had."

 Kathryn Janeway almost blurted that Admiral Chakotay had never told her the name of the Maquis cell leader Nicole had been sent to capture. She wondered suddenly if B'Elanna also rammed her vessel into the Kazon vessel and saved their Voyager and Ocampa. Sighing, she decided that she'd share those things personally with Nicole. Still, she felt she had to ask.

 "Who is your First Officer?"

 "Commander Magnus Rollins."

 "Rollins?"

 "You're surprised?"

 "Just that on my vessel, he's deputy Security Chief."

 "Well, you know universes…our destinies aren't always identical."

 Kathryn nodded, only too aware of the truth of her counterpart's words.

 "Nicole, as I said, I may be able to assist. Give me an hour. I will head an away team to your ship. There are things…we can share…"

 "Perhaps Commander Chakotay can form part of the away team?" Nicole asked with hopeful expectation.

 Kathryn thought briefly of the time she had landed on Earth and all she had wanted to do was to touch Admiral Chakotay. She’d needed that contact, however brief, else she would have gone mad. She understood Nicole's desire to see Chakotay. She had not seen or spoken to her husband in seven years. Kathryn had hers right by her side. Suddenly she felt privileged. Still, knowing how Chakotay had been feeling sick since he'd woken up that morning, she wasn’t sure he should join the away team. Nicole's request was a plea.

 "Nicole, I think perhaps you should know - "

 "Yes, he is your husband, Kathryn. In that respect our destinies are the same, aren't they?"

 Kathryn nodded again. "Well then, we'll transport to your vessel an hour and a half from now."

 *****

 Kathryn and Chakotay were still in their quarters an hour later. She'd already briefed her away team. They were awaiting her orders to gather in the transporter room. She'd decided when the time was right, to prepare messages for those she thought might ask for them. If nothing else, they afforded hope for many. Chakotay remained her one dilemma. Nicole Janeway had asked specifically that he join them on the away team. How could she know that Chakotay had been troubled by a mysterious affliction since early morning?

 "How do you feel about going on the away mission, Chakotay?"  Kathryn asked him. "I know you're not feeling too well. You really should see the EMH…"

 "That's the strangest thing, Kathryn. It's nothing that warrants a visit to sick bay. It's as if there's an echo inside me. No, it's not actually hearing things. Just echoes or a memory of an echo."

 Kathryn had felt the same thing when she'd accidentally landed on Earth in Admiral Chakotay's bed, in another universe. Even months after her return to her own timeline, she had felt the residual effects of it.

 "I understand, Chakotay. Perhaps more than you think. Weird, isn't it?"

 "Weird, as you once told Harry Kim, is part of the job. Say, our Harry isn't really our Harry, if you think about it…"

 "I know. I won't hold a phaser to your head if you don't want to go. Seeing my counterpart could be…confusing and unsettling."

 "The point is, when I saw her on the bridge, I almost lost my balance. The feeling was much stronger then. Something about her is triggering a response that's…weird. It's as if there are two versions of me occupying the exact same spot. My version of me knows I'm married to Kathryn Janeway, you understand? That version is sure of himself, secure in the knowledge that his wife is right there by his side. The other version has a deep silence inside him, and that silence is filled with wordless sorrow, with longing, the knowledge that that which should complete him, is not there beside him. I…have never felt such sadness in my life, Kathryn, not even when my parents died… It is…disconcerting."

 "You feel that if you met Nicole, the feeling would go away?"

 Chakotay sighed. "I guess it would. Besides, I'd like to see the woman who is married to my counterpart, to the man whose eyes you said were always so sad."

 Kathryn nodded. Then she went to the chest of drawers she had installed when they’d married five years ago. In the top drawer, hidden in the depths under fine underwear, lay the object she'd kept hidden there.

It was the temporal disc Cosimo, the time-traveling, universe jumping alien whose function it was to oversee the integration of those who'd accidentally slipped into another universe, had given her at the time. She'd shown Chakotay the disc only once, after which he declared that she should either destroy it or hide it.

 If the temporal disc could bring her home, the alternate Voyager might just have a good chance of returning to their universe.

 "You had that in your hand when you returned that day," Chakotay said, noticing how Kathryn caressed the circular disc. "I'm glad you kept it."

 Kathryn looked at him and nodded. "Like the doctor's mobile emitter, this technology is centuries ahead of ours. It will help the other Voyager get back…"

 "And reunite Nicole Janeway with her Chakotay," he said, already beginning to feel better.

 Kathryn clipped the temporal disc to her phaser belt.

 "You want us to carry our phasers? And tricorders?" he asked, looking askance at her belt.

 Kathryn closed the gap between them, threw her arms round his neck and pulled him into a heady kiss. Her lips were warm and soft and inviting, lingering on his. When she released him, she cocked an eyebrow. He panted heavily, resisting an urge to hurry her into their bedroom and make delightful love to her.

 "That's just so you know it's me, Kathryn, you're kissing. See here?" she said, pointing to the third and fourth pips on her collar. He never noticed that they were silver and not gold. When had Kathryn had time to do that? He'd be able to distinguish between Kathryn and Nicole. On the bridge of the alternate Voyager, it could have been Kathryn standing there if it weren't that Nicole raised her left hand as if in salute. Kathryn always raised her right hand.

 Chakotay pulled Kathryn towards him and gazed deeply into her eyes. "I'll know it's you, my beloved. Believe me, I'll know."

 "Good. Before I change my mind and go to bed and take you with me, we'd better make our way to the transporter room. I ordered Seven of Nine, Tom Paris and Ayala to wait for me there. Noah Lessing, Sam Wildman and Neelix will remain on standby."

 As they made their way to the transporter room Chakotay felt the sense of loss and displacement again, but decided not to tell Kathryn. He hoped meeting Nicole would allay his fears.

 ***  

They materialised on the transporter platform of the alternate Voyager, where Nicole Janeway and Magnus Rollins were waiting for them. As they stepped off the platform, Nicole Janeway moved forward.

 "Welcome aboard Voyager, Captain Janeway."

 Kathryn couldn't resist a smile as Nicole's eyes pinned Chakotay even while she addressed Kathryn.

 "And you must be Commander Chakotay."

 Chakotay, when he shook Nicole Janeway's hand felt something settling in him. The tightness that had been in his chest since he'd woken the morning had suddenly, miraculously lifted. Now there was just a slight wheeze.

 "I am," Chakotay replied. He blinked, remembering that she was Nicole and not Kathryn. But her eyes were soft, as if a lost memory had come to reside in them. "Your husband is not on this vessel," he continued, conversationally.

 "One departure in our timelines. My husband is an admiral based at Headquarters."

 And Chakotay could understand in the way her eyes feasted on his features how much she missed him.

 Meanwhile Kathryn had greeted Commander Rollins. "Our Mr Rollins is second-in-command of Security."

 "We lost Commander Cavit," Rollins said. "I was Lieutenant-Commander then, in charge of Security. We had a major reshuffle, as I'm sure you had as well."

 "I lost most of my senior personnel…yes."

 As soon as Nicole Janeway could pull her eyes from Chakotay, she said with a confident air, "Please, if we could meet in the briefing room? Follow me…"  She lifted the corner of her mouth. "You know where the bridge is."

 Her eye narrowed when she looked at Seven of Nine and Tom Paris in turn. Then, "Your counterparts will be a little surprised...when they see you."

 "If it's not too insulting, Captain Janeway," Tom Paris responded, "that is not my counterpart."

 "I told you, Paris, to let it go for now."

 "Thank you, Commander Chakotay. You - " she started then cut herself off and pulled her eyes away from him.

 Chakotay thought she was going to say something more revealing when she stopped suddenly. Her gaze had shifted from Tom to his when she spoke. Could Tom be right after all?

 "Shall we all go then?" Kathryn suggested.

 ********

 All along the way to the turbolifts and the briefing room, crew stared at them. Kathryn recognised those with Maquis rank pins and other officers who did a double take whenever they saw Chakotay. Tom Paris grinned wickedly at some who passed him while Kathryn kept in step with Nicole, quietly comparing notes. From time to time, Nicole would turn sharply to glance at Chakotay, who took the brazen stares from passing crew in his stride. He'd smile at them and nod in greeting as they passed.

 When their eyes fixed on Seven of Nine, they gaped too. Seven looked imperious in her silver metallic cat suit that practically blended into her skin. On her high heels she towered above everyone except Chakotay and Tom. She looked straight ahead, reluctant to address anyone in the group.

 Tom appeared stiff-lipped, rebuffed as he felt, by the captain and first officer as to the identity of his double.  

 Some of the alternate Voyager crew greeted them as they passed the small group. They looked purposeful in their step, determined to help the distressed vessel.

 "I guess we'll never get used to being stared at," Tom Paris remarked to Seven.

 Seven of Nine broke the silence finally. "Get used to it, Lieutenant. It is no different to being weightless in a transparent maturation chamber, being inspected and prodded by Borg drones. Though, to be fair, I was only aware on a subconscious level."

 "Thank you very much, Seven, for putting it so plainly. I shall never complain again."

 "And I am not amused, Lieutenant Paris."

 "I wonder if I have a double here," remarked Ayala. He too had been quiet the entire time.

 "You must. Just don't expect a perfectly accurate representation of you," Kathryn told him. "Who knows, he may not even be on board…"

 "That's right," Nicole said, her eye narrowing when she looked at Ayala. "Perhaps my Chief Engineer can fill you in on that, Lieutenant. You're right, Captain. We have no Lieutenant Ayala on Voyager. Though he was a crewmember of the Liberty."

 "Then he died."

 Nicole stopped suddenly, pinned Mike with sad eyes. "As I said, Lieutenant Torres is the best person to fill you in on the absence of Lieutenant Ayala on our vessel."

 "See? There's one of you and one of me," Tom quipped, giving Ayala a hard slap on his back.

 "We'll explain the rest during the briefing, if you don't mind," Nicole Janeway said. After that they were all quiet until they were seated in the briefing room.

 *******

 The briefing room of the alternate Voyager was a revelation. On the bulkheads were portraits of great star  travelers and pioneers of interstellar travel - James T. Kirk, Spock, Zephram Cochrane.

 "And naturally, Daddy," Tom whispered as he studied the picture of Admiral Owen McKenzie Paris. He thought no one heard him, but Nicole Janeway's eyes narrowed and she gave him a speculative gaze.

 "You really are Thomas Eugene Paris?"

 "Yes, Ma-am! Glad to be me at last."

 "I guess you didn't languish in a tavern in Marseilles," Ayala said with a grin.

 "In our universe," Nicole Janeway started, " your father is a great man…a pioneer."

 Nicole was silent for a few brief moments before she gestured that everyone sit down. Chakotay seated himself next to Kathryn. Under the table Kathryn squeezed his thigh in a reassuring gesture. Then they all waited for Nicole to address them.

 "Once again I welcome you to our Voyager, Captain, Commander. As you know, we're trapped in your universe with very little hope of returning to ours. Captain Janeway - Kathryn - has offered us assistance. I have my best people working on finding a solution, but we can do with a little bit of help from our…neighbours."

 "Thank you," Kathryn replied. "We have two hours to find the area where the next temporal inversion fold in the space-time matrix will occur. We have been lucky ourselves that our team of scientists had determined well in advance that we were in a sector with temporal fluctuations. We were able to take the necessary precautions."

 "Unfortunately we had no such luxury," Nicole added. "The temporal spike remained invisible to our sensors until we were almost on top of it. By then it was too late."

 Chakotay leaned his elbows on the table and laced his fingers.

 "I have the fullest confidence that you will be returned to your time and space, Nicole. Two…Voyager crews working together… Well, you know what they say - "

 Then both captains chorused, "Weird is part of the job."

 "My thought exactly," Tom Paris piped up.

 "Here's what I propose," Kathryn Janeway began. "My chief pilot, Tom Paris should assist your chief pilot to enhance the navigational array. I have no doubt that they will work well together. We've determined that the aperture remained open for twelve minutes. You will need power to pull Voyager at least a hundred thousand kilometers away since the magnetic drift will be bound to hold her like an elastic band. That is essential to the mission: the ship's engine needs to be - "

 "Souped up?" Tom suggested with a smile.

 "Yes, souped up, if you like. They must realign the navigation systems to adjust to the ship's sudden burst of power."

 "Like 0 - 100 in two seconds."

 "That's enough, Paris," Chakotay said, a note of warning in his voice. Tom was quiet again.

 Seven of Nine had not spoken much since she joined the away mission. Chakotay looked pointedly at her for the first time. She looked like he had felt earlier the morning. He guessed that she was also experiencing a sense of displacement. Probably many more of their own crew were experiencing the same thing.

 "Seven of Nine here - " Kathryn started, but was interrupted by Nicole.

 "Seven of Nine? You call her Seven of Nine?"

 "That is my designation. I do not see where the error can lie in that."

 "No, there is no error, I can assure you," Nicole replied. "It's just that we too, have a Seven of Nine on board, but we refer to her here by her given name since she was severed from the Collective."

 "Seven of Nine should join her counterpart. I have here a disc which she will use to determine the exact location of the next breach in the space-time matrix." Kathryn removed the temporal disc from her phaser belt and placed it on the table. It was circular with several indentations along it edge, and both sides convex shaped.

 "That little thing will help us?" Nicole asked, staring with unabashed curiosity at the temporal disc.

 "Yes, this little thing will help you. Now, if it's possible, Captain Janeway," Kathryn addressed Nicole formally, "I'd like to send my people to their respective stations where they can assist your crew."

 "I will find my way to the Astrometrics lab…if there is one," Seven of Nine announced with an imperious air.

 "There is one," Nicole replied.

 "Not to worry about me either, Captains," Mike Ayala said, "I saw Tuvok on the bridge. I'll speak with him and he can apprise me of the ship's security systems and sensors before I meet with Lieutenant Torres."

 "I'll be with…uh…your pilot," Tom said. "I swear he isn't me. I've been silenced too many times. Now I ask you, Captain Nicole Janeway, who the hell is that man who looks like me?"

 "You mean he really isn't your counterpart?" Chakotay asked.

 "Captain?"

 "He is Lieutenant-Commander Nick Locarno." 

 "Nick Locarno?" Kathryn asked, then her eyes widened suddenly as if the name triggered an old memory. "Yes…yes, that makes sense."

 "Captain," Tom said, looking at Kathryn, "I have no clue what you're talking about, but at least it proves I was right all along."

 "Then, why not join him now? I believe they're all curious to see the away mission members," Nicole Janeway said. "Commander Chakotay?"

 "I'll take a walk. Observe similarities and differences, speak to your crew, if that's okay, Nicole?"

 "That's okay, Chakotay. Oh…" Nicole Janeway paled visibly, a look of consternation in her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, then changed her mind.

 "What?" he asked.

 "No, nothing. Just that you might find a surprise or two."

 "Don't worry," he said, smiling. "I like surprises."

 *******

 The moment the two captains were alone, Kathryn Janeway watched as Nicole's mask finally stripped away. She looked distraught, exhausted, exposed. Kathryn understood how draining it was to pretend your world was turning on its axis, to show your celebrated equilibrium when war raged inside you.

 Nicole Janeway gave a huge sigh and then covered her face with trembling fingers. Kathryn remained still in her seat, waiting for her counterpart to speak. She sensed it wasn't only the fact that they were stuck in another version of the Delta Quadrant that had the other captain on the verge of tears.  Facing hurdles such as being trapped in another timeline wasn't so impossible that they couldn't cross them.  

 It was seeing Chakotay.

 A familiar face for Nicole, yet one she hadn't touched or seen in seven years.

 Kathryn understood the grace of a caress, how just cupping Chakotay's cheek could still the terrible rage in him. She knew the mercy of just such a touch when his great hand could squeeze her shoulder gently and she'd instantly be reassured.

 Touch was critical. It healed, it comforted, it cooled, it returned life and breathed hope where once despair resided. Without that vital element, a person might wither and die without ever having tasted the magnificence or the peace of it.

 What was present in Kathryn Janeway's life was missing from Nicole's life.

 When Nicole removed her fingers from her face, there were tears in her eyes.

 "I miss him, Kathryn. Every minute of every hour of every day."

 "Believe me, Nicole, I understand!"

 "Your husband," said Nicole, "he is so like mine. So alike. I could touch him and know that the longing that's inside me…that's been inside me for so long - will still."

 "Your husband, Nicole, is the kindest man who ever breathed. He helped me when I despaired of ever finding my way home. He told me Chakotay is a very lucky man…"

 Kathryn paused, watching the woman across the table. Nicole frowned, lost colour again.

 "He - what are you saying, Kathryn? You couldn't possibly have spoken with my husband. You're from another universe. He's at - "

 "Starfleet Headquarters. Admiral Chakotay. A man suffering as you are suffering, Nicole."

 "You scanned my ship, Captain Janeway. Why are you doing this to me? Are you an evil alter ego after all?"

 Nicole rose to her feet, about to tap her commbadge, but Kathryn gently indicated she sit down again.

 "No, Nicole. I can assure you I am not. Please, allow me to tell you my story…"

 As Kathryn began to relate the tale she'd told Chakotay, Nicole Janeway's eyes remained fixed on her, her lips parted as she listened with rapt attention. The suspicion quickly evaporated. Her eyes would shift, become tender in lost memory, her mouth curve in an almost-smile at Kathryn's account of her experience in another timeline.

 Kathryn spoke of how she’d woken up in another universe, in the bed of a stranger when only seconds before she had been in her shuttle. She spoke of Chakotay's complete amazement at seeing her in their bed. She had little knowledge of how she got there. It was as if her memory of those critical seconds were wiped from her conscious mind.

 "The same fold in the space-time matrix?"

 "Perhaps not the same. It happened five years ago," Kathryn answered. "It was definitely a similar one, as I learnt later from a space-time hopping alien called Cosimo."

 "Who gave you that."  Nicole pointed to the temporal disc.

 "I was so obsessed with returning to my own universe that he relented. It's his assignment to help people who slip through adjust to life in their new place. I couldn't accept it. I had a mission - to bring my crew home - and a burning desire to be with Chakotay again."

 "So you woke up in my bed. How weird is that?"

 "Chakotay was so deeply shocked to see me there. To him, Nicole had been gone two years and declared dead or missing in action. He thought I was Nicole… He looked so shattered, saying I had come to haunt him."

 Then Kathryn spoke of the race against time, in which Admiral Chakotay, accepting finally that she was Kathryn and not his wife Nicole, decided to help her. He did so unconditionally, knowing that he would risk his career, even his life. She spoke of how a young man called Thomas Eugene Paris risked his life to help her.

 "I didn't want to say anything to your Tom Paris, Kathryn. In our universe Tom Paris was considered a maverick who never got along with his father. When I wanted him on Voyager, I found him stoned in a seedy bar in Marseilles. Then I found Nick Locarno."

 "I heard about Nick. I knew Tom couldn't be on this vessel. You know…at the last…Thomas Paris behaved like a true hero, risking his life to save mine."

 "Did he die, Kathryn?"

 "To be honest? I don't know. I'm hoping he is alive. I'm praying things turned out well for him. Admiral Chakotay escorted me to the runabout. Then I told him if Nicole was like me, she'd find her way home."

 Nicole's eyes, so sad and tear-filled earlier, now shone with renewed hope.

 "Do you think they think we're alive?"

 "Chakotay and Thomas Eugene Paris will know. I am certain that my presence in their space, in their lives, was evidence that Nicole and Voyager's crew were alive and heading for home, however long that was going to take."

 "Chakotay…how did he look, Kathryn?"

 "Sad. I think that is the first thing that struck me. He missed you…every minute of every hour of every day. When I arrived, you cannot imagine how shocked and hopeful he was. He told me they'd held a memorial service for Voyager's crew. I have to assume that the same thing happened in our universe."

 "Your Commander Chakotay," Nicole began then shook her head in almost disbelief. "It's as if my husband is here, right beside me."

 "My Chakotay has sensed since very early this morning that this meeting would take place. He has been suffering serious case of dejà vu. Now that he's seen you, he's feeling better."

 "Kathryn, there's something else. My husband doesn't know. He couldn't know. I was pregnant when we left Deep Space Nine. Perhaps a few days. I only discovered it a month later, after we destroyed the Caretaker's Array."

 "You have a child?"

 "A little girl. She is six years old now. I show her holovids of her father, to keep his memory alive, you see?"

 "A little girl…" Kathryn said longingly. She and Chakotay had held off having children, especially after everyone else started talking babies. "I can just imagine Chakotay with a little daughter - "

 "Oh, my goodness!" Nicole exclaimed.

 "What is it?"

 "Chakotay is walking the ship. He's bound to meet Katie."

 "K-Katie?"

 "Yes, her name is Kathryn Janeway."

  **** 

 

END CHAPTER 3


	4. Chapter 4

 

* * *

 

"I wasn't going to tell them I know you're Nick Locarno," Tom said to Nick at the conn.

 "And I wasn't certain whether you were really me," Nick replied. "You could also have left your Tom Paris back in Federation space."

 "I know. Captain Janeway was good enough to pluck my sorry behind from the New Zealand Penal Colony."

 "Well, what do you know. That's where I was rotting before my captain made me an offer I didn't want to refuse."

 Tom chuckled. Kathryn Janeway had done pretty much the same with him.

 "So… what we need here is to enhance the navigational array to create a gravimetric force strong enough to suck Voyager off the rocks like a periwinkle. You're going to have only seconds to break away from the fracture," Tom said, beginning to enter a few key commands on the conn panel.

 "Like a periwinkle. I get it. We'll need to re-route power from the engines.

 "Correct. On our ship we had good forewarning and were prepared. Our chief engineer - "

 "B'Elanna Torres?"

 "Aye. Happens to be my wife. We're eight months pregnant - "

 Nick whistled softly through his teeth. "Our B'Elanna is single. No Tom for her, I'm afraid."

 "Well," Tom continued, "what we know is that another breach will occur. When it will happen only Seven of Nine can tell. She warned us of the first one. She'll let us know."

 "Since we have at least a few hours to kill, how about a game of pool?" Nick suggested with a smile.

 "We do need to inform Engineering about rerouting power to the navigation systems."

 "Don't worry. We'll visit her after we've been to the holodeck. Something I want to show you. We do have at least two hours, right?"

 "Right."

 Tom ignored the curious stares of the bridge crew as he and Nick headed for the turbolifts. He gave them a he's-Nick-and-I'm-Tom-look as they crossed the floor. Meanwhile, Hamilton, who'd been sitting to the left of Nick, took over the conn.

 "So," Nick began once they were inside the turbolift, "next thing they're gonna think we're related."

 "Well, aren't we?"

 "My mother is a medical practitioner too. She lives on Bajor. 'Nuff said."

 "Lovely picture of my father in the briefing room. Quite the hero. What's he done?"

 "Enough. In my universe he acknowledges me as his son, Tom."

 "That makes him a hero?"

 "That makes him a hero."

 Tom looked at Nick with narrowed eyes. They had a few hours to kill. An idea sprang into his head.

 "Say, when you return to the Alpha Quadrant, will you give Owen Paris and Thomas Eugene Paris a message from an alternate timeline Tom Paris?"

 "You're sure you want to do that?" Nick asked.

 Tom nodded.  "I can give our Nick a message from you…"

 "I'd like that."

 "In my universe my father has forgiven me finally. I gave him a hard time." When Tom saw Nick frown, he added, "We are able to communicate with Starfleet. Dad heads the Pathfinder Project."

 "No such luck on my side, though I'm sure they tried. A pathfinder project, you say? Perhaps our Admiral Chakotay is part of a similar project."

 "Nick, for what it's worth, we know our captains. I'm pretty darned certain we'll be home inside a year."

 "I hope so, too."

 *

 After Mike Ayala had spoken with Tuvok, he made his way to Engineering. He'd endured the inquisitive stares of crew who passed him in the corridors and simply nodded in greeting or shrugged it off. Since they'd been transported to this ship, he had wanted to know about his counterpart.

 Nicole Janeway's words were mystifying, confusing him more than he'd dared to admit. There was just something about the way she’d advised him to see B'Elanna Torres that piqued his interest a thousand-fold.

 Almost the first person he saw as he entered Engineering was a half-Klingon, half-human officer. Perhaps because she looked so petite, her uniform clinging seductively to her body, that he had trouble recognising her. Their own B'Elanna was married to Tom Paris and she was heavily pregnant with a blooming face, her daughter expected to be born in a month's time. This woman was clearly not pregnant.

She was working on an EPS relay and looked up distractedly when he approached her. Suddenly she swore in Klingon. Ayala smiled.

"Some things never change, Torres," he said.

"Hey! Who - ?" Torres rose to her short height and paled when she saw him. She swallowed, struggling to get a word out until finally she managed, "Ayala…?"

"Yes. Michael Ayala."

"Ayala?" she whispered his name again.

He saw how she struggled to regain her composure.

"Your captain suggested I speak with you about my counterpart. I believe he is no longer on this vessel, Ms Torres," he said softly, suddenly very formal with her. Her distress was very clear. "I am sorry to  upset you. If you'd rather not… Perhaps the captain will allow me to read the ship's logs pertaining to his demise?"

Torres continued to gape at him, swallowing with difficulty, but the moment she was composed, he thought he was back on his own ship.

"Vorik!"

B'Elanna yelled suddenly without looking in the direction of the Vulcan ensign. When he approached her, she barked, "Here, take this and continue monitoring the plasma relays. We're rerouting power to the navigational systems."

"Aye, Commander Torres."

Torres turned to Ayala, grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her small office. Once inside, she closed the door. No one would hear them, he knew.

"Now, Mike. What do you want to know?"

The almost angry pain was back in her eyes.

"As much as you want to tell me."

"Ayala and I…we were together." 

He wasn't surprised. They had always had a deep friendship, from the moment they'd joined the Maquis… They must have been a great couple.

"What happened to him?" he asked, dreading the answer nonetheless.

"Okay, you know the Kazon were about to take over the Ocampan world?"

Ayala nodded. Seven years later, Torres still sounded as angry as Chakotay had been on the Liberty.

"Michael…" She paused, reached to touch his arm, sliding her hand down to cover his. For a few seconds she caressed the back of it. "He was my friend, in the best sense of the word. His wife had run off with a Cardassian, of all p'taqs, leaving him to care for his small boys."

"How did he die, B'Elanna Torres?"

"A hero, you understand? A hero who didn't take into account he was leaving two sons without a father. He…" Torres sighed deeply. "He rammed the Liberty into the Kazon vessel, just seconds after he had me transported to Voyager. What remained of the Liberty's crew had already been beamed to Voyager hours before that. I was the one who wanted to die…"

"You?"

"Instead of him! Nicole Janeway was after me! In the Badlands, I'd given Voyager a run for its money. Voyager and Gul Evek. I was getting out of Janeway's face. They would have had me rot in a Cardassian prison."

"Did Mike think you'd be of greater value to Voyager than him?"

Torres was quiet a few seconds, her eyes blazing with remembered anger and pain.

"I figured it would be the last good deed I'd do as a Maquis renegade. And then I'd die for the good of Voyager. Mike pulled me to him just as the transporter beam caught him. Before I could react I was already on Voyager's bridge, swearing blue murder right in Janeway's face."

"Our Commander Chakotay did that for us, though Voyager's best transporter experts got him out in the nick of time."

"Michael didn't have to do what he did, okay?"

"But Voyager needed to destroy the Kazon vessel, Torres."

Another sigh. "Yes. Michael… Because his wife dumped him, he'd brought his kids on the Liberty. We were going to settle them with family deep in the heart of the Badlands - a planet called Alkorea - "

"The boys are here? On board Voyager?" Ayala asked, completely thrown by B'Elanna's words.

"Yeah. No mother. No father. Just a shipload of aunts and uncles who adore them."

"I haven't seen my sons in eight years. My wife took our kids to her mother. Then she…died."

He’d had only three communications from his mother-in-law who'd told him that the boys were doing well, just missing their father. Ayala felt a great pain in his chest just thinking of his boys. Here was his chance…

"H-how old are they?" he asked.

"Diego is twelve and Peter is ten years old."

"Are you their primary caregiver, B'Elanna Torres?"

Torres smiled. He had sat down on a chair in the narrow confines of her office and leaned forward to touch her hand. This B'Elanna, with no Tom Paris on board, had been more than just great friends with his counterpart. She looked sad and angry during her recount of the events that led to his death. Now her eyes were filled with pride.

"Yes…yes, I am. They call me Mama…"

"I would very much like to see them, B'Elanna. You can set it up. I don't have to meet them. I realise how my presence could be disconcerting for them. Please, I haven't seen my sons. It would give me…peace, I guess."

He realised only now that the great emptiness he had felt since they'd been thrust in the Delta Quadrant was because his sons were not in his life, that the feeling of slight nausea he'd experienced since he'd woken up this morning was a result of an echoing emptiness inside him, an emptiness he sensed would leave once he'd seen B'Elanna's boys.

"I will arrange that, Michael Ayala. I'd very much like to do that for the best friend I ever had…"

***

Seven of Nine remained impassive as she made her way to the Astrometrics lab. Crew had turned their heads to look at her and had stopped and gaped. They had a Seven of Nine on board; she saw no reason for their obvious curiosity. She remained expressionless as she reached her destination and calmly entered the codes to the lab.

The doors remained closed. For once she pondered on the fact that she might have made a mistake. "Of course," she realised. "This vessel's Seven of Nine devised her own unique codes. But why keep Astrometics locked?" she murmured as she pressed the chime.

Seconds later the doors swished open and she strode in. There were three officers, two of whom Seven instantly recognised as the Delaney twins, Megan and Jenny. The third person standing at the main console that controlled the massive viewscreen showing several sectors seemed a stranger to her. Dressed like the other two in the teal Starfleet uniform, she remained gazing at the viewscreen while fingers flew deftly over the panels.

Seven took two steps forward, wondering what had happened to this vessel's former Borg. She had been told Seven of Nine was here in Astrometrics. Megan Delaney frowned heavily when she saw Seven of Nine, her eyes scanning the silver close-fitting cat suit she was wearing.

"Your Seven of Nine. I do not see her here…" Seven said without greeting the stunned Megan.

"She is here…there…" Megan pointed to the figure hunched over the console.

"That is not - " Seven started, but stopped instantly when the woman looked directly at her.

Same eyes, same mouth, same heaving bosom. Same hair, but caught in a ponytail such as she'd seen Captain Kathryn Janeway wear in pictures of the earlier years of their journey.

"Seven of Nine, why are you dressed like that?"

The officer rose to her impressive height. Seven noticed how much softer her features appeared, how human she looked.

"Are you here to do a job of work and help me sort out this freakin' mess we're in? I take no comfort in being stranded in your universe. And, my name is Annika Hansen."

Only now Seven noticed the absence of an exoskeletal frame on the hand of the other woman. The remains of her ocular implant were faint, hardly noticeable.

"You cannot survive without your vital implants, Seven of Nine."

Annika Hansen came up closer to her and tried to stare her down. As impressive as she appeared in her Starfleet uniform, to Seven of Nine it signalled a general acceptance of her humanity.

"And I said, call me Annika Hansen. That is the name I go by since B'Elanna Torres severed me from the Collective and the EMH removed most of my implants, including those tied to my vital functions. As you can see, I didn't die."

"You have become as obnoxious as some humans I know."

"Trust me, it's what I chose to be - an integral part of the function of this ship and its crew, my family."

"Seven - "

"Annika."

"I prefer to remain Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01. It's effective and places me where I need to be."

"And where the devil is that, pray?"

"An integral part of the function of my ship and its crew, my family."

"Touché."

"I value Captain Kathryn Janeway very highly. From her I have learned that individuality is important and vital within the construct of the group. If truth be told, I believe on Voyager we have perfected the ability to act like a hive mind while at the same time no one loses what is most precious to him or her - identity."

"Oh. You think I have not learnt that from my captain? I made a conscious choice when I became integrated into the life of this ship as fully human with all its quirks and peculiarities. I believe I am what I would have developed into had I not been assimilated. I prefer it that way. This uniform helps me to blend into humanity."

"And therefore bound to Federation laws and ideals."

"Yes."

"They are flawed."

"You may think what you will. Captain Nicole Janeway grieves like most on this ship who have left loved ones behind. That makes her human."

And Seven of Nine, not to be outdone by her counterpart who spoke and acted like a Starfleet officer, found the chink she needed to best Annika Hansen.

"And from Commander Chakotay I have learned that it is acceptable to be Annika Hansen. He taught me that my assimilation was a part of my destiny, one that has shaped me into what I prefer to be: Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01. I still believe that any task must be completed to the highest order of things: perfection. It is why our Voyager could successfully break the bond of the space-time matrix."

"Then we're at odds here."

"Shall we continue with my mission?"

"If you're here to criticise my methods, you might as well leave."

"No, I am not here to criticise your methods, Annika Hansen. Merely to perfect them."

"I consider that an insult."

"Please, can we do what we're supposed to do? We do not have much time," Seven of Nine said curtly as the other woman also stared at the silver cat suit. Seven's free hand touched her ocular implant briefly, and almost instantly it felt to her as if her nanoprobes surged with renewed energy through her body. She gave a little sigh of relief.

"What is that object in your hand?" Annika Hansen asked, some of her Borg efficiency returning.

"It belongs to Captain Kathryn Janeway. Five years ago she slipped through a temporal inversion fold in the space-time matrix similar to the one you've slipped through. It is a temporal tracer that will help us determine the exact time and place of the next fracture in the space-time matrix."

"Can the possibility exist that it is the same one?" Annika asked.

"I was not on Voyager at the time the original fracture occurred. Until I can make an analysis of the alignment of this disc to every centimetre of the sector, I would not hazard a guess."

"Well, let us start, Seven of Nine. It still feels weird to call my counterpart by her Borg designation. I haven't used it for years."

"You should," Seven of Nine said with an imperious air. "I believe one cannot exist or function fully without…the sum of all your parts. I treasure my…inner Borg. It defines who I am."

"You're inferring that I'm not Borg anymore?"

"You have wilfully discarded the very aspect of your nature that would have complemented you. The wholeness of you with all its warts is what defines your character, for better or for worse."

"You know what we looked like when we were transported to Voyager the very first time. Unlike other bipedal Delta Quadrant species, the Borg was viewed with extreme distrust. In that form, Seven of Nine, crew of this vessel displayed extreme fear of me. I wanted change. I like what and who I am now. I received a field commission of Lieutenant from Captain Nicole Janeway. Let's just say that here, on this vessel, I can be one of the gang, not a curiosity."

"Surely your vessel has encountered the Borg since your…integration?" Seven of Nine asked while she was busy at the console. "There must still be a part of you that is…Borg."

Seven fixed the temporal disc to a housing on the console and pressed a tiny key on the edge of the instrument. Immediately a slight whirring began and data began to stream across the monitor. From time to time she looked up and studied the main viewscreen while Annika kept archiving the datastream.

"I still have my neural transceiver," Annika replied. "It has activated the few times we have encountered the Borg. My assistance was needed then. However, it was considered part of a combined ensemble action by every able-bodied member of this ship. I prefer not to blow too many bugles around here."

"Have you never felt yourself to be unique? That being Borg formed part of your distinctiveness?"

"What? You condone the assimilation of millions who lost their identity? Who lost their lives? Millions separated from loved ones? We were once murderers, Seven of Nine. Cold-blooded killers who assimilated with merciless intent. Borg distinctiveness? Let's see what that entails: no remorse, no feeling, no hatred, no love, no empathy, no sympathy, no caring, no relevance. I wanted that purged."

"So you prefer the comfort of not remembering. That makes everything convenient."

"Seven of Nine, my request to the EMH was very clear - I wished for every memory of hearing a thousand voices as constant echoes in my mind to be purged. I wanted everything - every emotion, every incident however unimportant to others, to be relevant to me."

Seven of Nine kept her eye on the monitor this time. Annika's words unsettled her momentarily. How many times had she herself rejected things others considered relevant? There were times on board her Voyager when she sensed others viewed her with suspicion, even awe. She had little recourse on how to correct it, other than purging herself of everything Annika Hansen had discarded from her life. Yet…

"Annika, let me tell you why I prefer my Borg distinctiveness. I need the memories of what I once was.   They echo inside me as reminders to keep me grounded, to keep me human, to view any other injustice against the framework of the terrible atrocities of the Borg and surely feel the horror, the disgrace, the remorse a hundred-fold more than if I had never been a part of such acts. I need being part Borg because that is what keeps me grounded. For better or for worse."

"We really are not at all alike, Seven of Nine."

"I rejoice in our difference."

Annika shrugged, then continued to work alongside Seven in complete accord, as if they were one mind working at finding a solution. From time to time one of them would say something to which the other would nod in agreement. The Delaney sisters spent the rest of the session watching in awed silence as two versions of a former Borg operated like a hive mind.

Jenny Delaney, dressed like her identical twin in the same teal uniform as Annika Hansen, wondered for a moment what their counterparts were like on the other Voyager ship. She had a vision of four of them standing in a row, or the two of them exchanging places with their mirror twins and no one the wiser. Yet, she concluded, if their Annika Hansen, a former Borg and once Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01 could be so different from her counterpart who appeared stunning in a silver cat suit, could their mirror halves also be so different?

The temporal disc vibrated gently as soon as new data was entered and the next key pressed. At times Seven of Nine gazed at the viewscreen, her eyes scouring every grid in the selected sectors. At one moment Annika had clicked her tongue in impatient annoyance, muttering something about hitting a wall. Then Seven calmly pulled her back and insisted they work methodically until they'd charted every square metre. 

At last the disc vibration halted and a dark green fluorescence began slowly swelling from the inside.

"We have something," stated Seven of Nine.

 Annika Hansen exclaimed as she pointed at the viewscreen, "There! A slight uneven line!"

Both of them began to enter data with furious efficiency while the disc glowed luminous green.

Finally, Seven of Nine stood erect and looked at Annika Hansen. A glimmer of a smile touched her lips as she said, "We must inform the Captains Janeway of our findings."

***

Chakotay greeted everyone who passed him in the corridors very cordially. It felt as if he knew them as intimately as he knew his own crew. They nodded in deference. Many of them didn't know Nicole Janeway's husband at all. He hoped that his demeanour gave them an insight to the kind of man her husband was.

He thought to head first to the mess hall to meet Neelix. Kathryn had wanted their own Neelix to be on standby to share whatever innovations this ship's cook had by way of edible plants.

He felt the old echoes beginning to dissipate. It had started with meeting Nicole Janeway earlier. Face to face, it was hard to distinguish between the two women, but he knew Kathryn, could smell her; her voice patterns were implanted in his brain. No, he thought, he would not mistake the two. Like a mother who sensed the difference between her identical twins, he sensed the difference between Kathryn and Nicole as clearly as if they had different features.

Nicole Janeway was sad, distressed. He had wanted to touch her hand, but even as the thought crossed his mind, the turbulence he'd felt inside him had slowly disappeared. Strange, thinking about it now. Perhaps it was something in the cosmic order of things, a divine providence that had created this convergence of two Voyagers. They had to meet, of that he was now convinced, even if that thought was the furthest thing from his mind last night when he and Kathryn had discussed her sojourn in the alternate universe.

One moment he had felt ill, just as many on Voyager must have felt the same sense of displacement. Then, as soon as he set foot on this vessel, he felt better. Not completely in sync with himself, but much better.

Right now Kathryn was probably telling Nicole of her time in their universe, when she'd met Admiral Chakotay and Thomas Eugene Paris. She called them heroes because they’d risked everything to send her back to her own time and place. Chakotay gave a little chuckle. It was possible Nicole viewed Kathryn's account with disbelief, even extreme distrust, thinking Kathryn was enjoying teasing her. Kathryn would soon put Nicole's mind at ease and continue her story, Nicole listening with rapt attention.

They had a precious few hours to connect with their doubles. So he enjoyed the walk through this Voyager.

"Hi," a friendly young voice rang up.

"Naomi Wildman."

"Yes, Commander Chakotay. Captain Janeway - our Captain Janeway - has briefed us on your arrival on our vessel."

"Well, it is good to see you, Naomi Wildman."

"Do I have a double on your ship? Was she also brought from another Voyager like I was because I died on the duplicated vessel?"

Chakotay shook his head, trying to clear his mind. "Yes, indeed she was. Our Harry Kim also came from the duplicated vessel."

"Ours too! That's neat."

"That's weird."

"Weird is part of a Captain assistant's job."

"So you're the Captain's assistant here, too."

"Aye, Commander. And Commander, I hope our captain won't feel so lonesome anymore now that she's met you."

"Young lady, I can assure you she feels much better."

"Thank you, Commander Chakotay. I have to go. See you."

"Keep well," he said, but Naomi had already rounded a corner.

*

He was still smiling when he entered the mess hall. Although it was already later in the afternoon, the mess hall seemed deserted. Even Neelix was nowhere to be seen. He was probably in the hydroponics bay, Chakotay thought.

Something else hit him in that moment as he contemplated the mess hall's deserted air. The turbulent feeling in his stomach was back and he felt an overpowering dizziness. He stood erect, as still as he could to allow the feeling to pass. It settled slowly, though not leaving him.

He scanned the area. It seemed strange to not to see a single crewmember in the entire dining area. Not unless one counted the corner occupant, too small to be one of the crew. Right at the same table he and Kathryn always enjoyed their lunch together.

A child.

He had time enough to study her for her eyes were fixed on placing a rod in the kal-toh game Tuvok always played. She appeared familiar to him, though he swore he had never seen her before.

He couldn't have seen her before. Ever.

Her dark eyes were sad, he thought. And though the game was one of extreme concentration, she looked introverted, a too quiet child who had very few friends. He thought of the friendly Naomi Wildman he'd met minutes earlier.

Chakotay moved closer to the child. When she looked up, distracted, he felt as if a giant fist had just squeezed his heart. For a moment he couldn't breathe. Her hair was a burnished dark shade, cut in even bangs across her forehead, ending in an engaging bob.

He knew with a sickening truth that if he and Kathryn ever had a little girl, she would look exactly like the child looking at him with her heart in her eyes.

"Hello," he ventured.

"Papa?"

**


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

 

 

They should have warned him. The thought came to him in an instant. For a moment he wanted to swear at both Kathryn and Nicole, especially Nicole. Yet, the same instant allowed him the time in which he could see how Nicole, already burdened with  the pressures of her current predicament, could have forgotten to mention the child.

He'd had thoughts before about a child with Kathryn, a seal to their love, his devotion to her. It had never become an obsessive thought, though. He'd always been content to be with Kathryn, by her side and she by his in everything they did together.

Now, before him, in the mess hall of a Voyager from another dimension, sat a little girl with the saddest eyes he had ever seen and she wanted to know if he was her father.

"Papa?" repeated the child.

Chakotay had sensed from Naomi Wildman that some children on board this vessel knew of their ship's dilemma. Not this child.

"No, little girl, I just look like your papa, okay?"

"Then you are not my father? Mommy said she saw Chakotay and Chakotay is my daddy."

"I know, honey. But not this Chakotay. I come from another place. Did your mommy tell you that?"

The little girl nodded. It was clear to him, though, that like her mother, the child also hoped against hope.

"She shows me pictures and holovids of my daddy."

The child's eyes were wide, with an innocence that was startling.

"I guess he has a tattoo, like mine, right?"

"Yes," the child said with a little giggle. A dimple appeared in her cheeks and something burned through Chakotay's heart when he saw her smile.

"What is your name, little girl?"

"Kathryn. My name is Kathryn Nicole Janeway."

Chakotay blinked, felt a moistness in his eyes.

"Kathryn, huh."

"But everyone calls me Katie."

"That makes sense to me."

"Can I touch you?" Katie asked, her game completely forgotten.

Chakotay sat down opposite Katie and reached across the table with his hand. Katie laid her small hand lightly on his. A shiver went through him when she made contact. A vibration that spread through his whole body. His eyes closed. The experience was mystical, like an out-of-focus picture that slowly came into focus again, two images overlaid to merge into one, distinct, definable character.

A child's gentle touch.

He felt momentarily bereft as the connection was broken between them. His eyes remained closed, but he could hear Katie move to his side. This time her fingers traced the outline of his tattoo - a slow, exploratory discovery of lines only seen in pictures of her father. At first the touch was tentative, as if it sought permission to continue. Then when he nodded, the caress became gentle yet more assured, seeking remembrance, or perhaps something long forgotten. Yet that couldn't be, he realised. Katie had never seen her father, so how could she forget what she had never experienced? Still, it felt to him like that.

Or else it was to establish a new memory, something to record in her consciousness to be tapped into later when she thought of her father again. Chakotay imagined it was his own daughter touching him with such familiarity. Again he sensed an ache rising inside, a sudden longing for this child to be his - his and Kathryn's. Like a butterfly finding respite on a petal of dewdrops,  her fingers came to rest against his closed eyes.

An immense sense of peace overpowered him. He wondered for a moment why such a new stillness had filled the void inside him until he realised something that was so surprising he almost laughed.

The echoes were gone.

As he opened his eyes, the child dropped her hand almost reluctantly and gazed up at him, waiting.

"Katie," he said softly, "would you do something else for me?"

Katie nodded.

"Does your Mommy sometimes run a holodeck programme of her home in Indiana?"

Katie gasped. "How did you know?"

"Well, I'd like to join you in your Indiana home and tell you a story. Would you like that?"

"Can I ask my mommy?"

"You can ask your mommy, sweetie."

Next moment Katie Janeway hit her commbadge and paged her mother.

**

They stood in the lounge of Nicole Janeway's Indiana home. Chakotay noticed very few differences from Kathryn's home.. A picture of Chakotay in admiral's uniform hung over the fireplace. He felt a sudden stab, staring at himself.

In front of the fireplace was a large Persian rug and flanking the rug, a deep couch facing the fireplace and two easy chairs.

Katie jumped immediately on the couch and patted a place beside her. Chakotay held a book in his hand, one he had B'Elanna replicate on their own vessel and transport to the holodeck of the alternate Voyager. Holding the book in his hand, he gave a sigh of pleasure. It was an old favourite, one he had written himself.

"My mommy reads me stories sometimes," Katie offered. "I don't know that one," she said as she pointed to the book in his hand.

"You will after I've read it to you."

He placed an arm round Katie's shoulders, creating an unbroken circle as he held the book. Katie glanced up once, then settled against him. He began to read, the words tumbling from his lips like golden water droplets.

_"His tribe of warriors was captured one day by a neighbouring tribe. The leader of the tribe was a very beautiful woman. She was a princess - "_

"A warrior princess," Katie added on a happy sigh.

"Yes, she was a warrior princess."

"Then what happened, Papa?"

"Katie, remember what I told you? I just look like your papa, okay?"

"I just want to imagine you are really my daddy. I want to imagine it's my own daddy reading the story. Please, what happened to the angry warrior?"

_"The warrior princess told the angry warrior that even though she had captured him, her tribe was very small and her enemies were great. She asked the angry warrior to join her tribe to make both tribes much stronger. That way they were big enough to fight off the enemy._ "

"Did he? Did he join forces with the warrior princess? Did he?"

"Yes, sweetheart, he did."

_"Because she was so beautiful and kind, the angry warrior loved the warrior princess. He swore to her that he would stay by her side forever and ever. He would do everything and more just to make her own burden - "_

"Burden?"

"It means the weight of her duties as leader of her tribe. It was a very tough job, you understand?"

Katie nodded. "My mommy tells me sometimes it's her duty to see we are all safe, Papa."

Chakotay let the endearment go and nodded gravely. Then he read the last words.

_"He would do everything to make her burden lighter, to make things easier for her, to see that she knew when to rest."_

"Because he loved her?"

"Because he loved her."

"That is a beautiful story. Please could I keep the book so I can read it to Mama sometime?"

"With pleasure, Katie." Chakotay closed the book, removed his arm from Katie's shoulder and shifted to look straight into her eyes.

Her rosy lips were parted. There were tears in her eyes. The sadness was back. With a sob the child hurled herself against him and clung to him with all her might. The suddenness of the gesture surprised him. She felt warm, soft, lonely.

"Hey…sweetie, what's the matter?"

Katie did not reply, instead, she pressed herself deeper into his embrace. Very gently he held her away from him. Her eyes were tear-stained.

"What is it? Did I say something to upset you?"

She shook her head slowly before she raised her left hand to caress the lines of his tattoo again. The thought raced through his mind that he was falling for this child. He had to push it away forcefully or he'll be lost forever.

Her next words did not surprise him.

"Please, can you be my Papa and stay with me and my mom on this ship? Please?"

"Oh, honey, it's not that simple. I - I am not your Papa. Your Papa is at home and he is waiting for you to come home to him."

His words merely washed over the child's head as she threw herself against him again. "Don't go…please don't go!" she whispered in muffled desperation.

"Oh, my child, this is one wish I cannot grant you." He felt the sting of tears as he comforted Katie and unable to prevent himself from doing so, wept with her for a few seconds.

*

At the entrance to the room Kathryn Janeway and Nicole Janeway stood watching the little scene before them. Nicole Janeway looked distraught and Kathryn appeared equally unsettled as she watched Chakotay hug the little girl. On the floor lay the book B'Elanna had transported to the holodeck. Kathryn didn't have to guess its title or writer. Chakotay had written it after telling her the story on New Earth. He had kept it for one day when they had a daughter.

In the few minutes they'd been standing there, Kathryn had been able to see Katie's face. She had felt a sharp stab of recognition, as if she didn't have to wonder how their little daughter would look if they had one.

She was right there in the shape, deportment, appearance of Katie Janeway, daughter of another Captain Janeway and her husband Chakotay. The momentary stab of envy was gone as soon as it filled her.

Only last night after she and Chakotay had spoken about what she experienced five years ago, she'd made a decision. It was a life-altering one, but never impossible. It was time.

Now, watching Chakotay with Nicole Janeway's daughter, Kathryn thought how perfect they looked together, how utterly fatherly Chakotay appeared, how protective. Her eyes filled with tears and when Nicole touched her arm, she simply nodded.

They walked together into the lounge and Nicole gently extracted her little girl. When she saw Kathryn, the child’s eyes went wide with amazement.

"Katie, sweetheart, this lady is Captain Kathryn Janeway. She is the captain of the other ship and this gentleman is her husband, Commander Chakotay."

Katie gasped when she heard Kathryn's name. For a few minutes they stood talking. Then Kathryn's commbadge beeped.

"Seven of Nine to Captain Kathryn Janeway…"

***


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

 

CHAPTER 6

"What?" Kathryn Janeway exclaimed.

"We are one hundred percent positive that the next aperture will appear in exactly twenty minutes from now. We do not have much time, Captain," Seven of Nine said to Kathryn.

Nicole Janeway's eyes lit up. The two former Borg drones had worked together to find a way out of their current situation. They would once again be in their own reality, on their way home. Yet she was filled with a sense of melancholy. It had been difficult to extricate her daughter from the man she was convinced was her father. Katie had been beside herself as she clung to Commander Chakotay, who appeared just as unsettled. Eventually Sam Wildman and Naomi had arrived to take care of her. In her hands, Katie had tightly clutched the book from which Chakotay had read a story.

The senior staff and the away team gathered in the ready room where Seven of Nine stood next to Annika Hansen, both looking imperious.

Chakotay was still somewhat shaken by Katie's reaction. The child had latched onto him and refused to let go. He wished he could do more to help the troubled girl. Nicole Janeway was going to have her hands full explaining to Katie just why he couldn't go with them, or why she couldn't stay with Kathryn. It was a difficult situation.

They had only a few precious minutes to say their last goodbyes.

"The time is sooner than I thought," Kathryn said. "Thank you both."

Nicole Janeway's eyes were fixed on Chakotay. It was as if she couldn't get enough of seeing him so close yet unable to claim him.

Chakotay, however, was looking at Kathryn, who was issuing commands to Seven, Tom and Ayala. He wished they were both back on their own ship, in their own quarters and their own bed. He had no intention of remaining, however much it pained him to hurt an innocent little girl. Kathryn was his wife, and if truth be told, she was as different from Nicole Janeway as if they had been totally dissimilar in looks and in nature. Even in deportment, the two carried themselves differently. The reason for the difference, obvious perhaps only to him, suddenly dawned on him.

Nicole Janeway ran her ship ably, with as good a team as on their own vessel. Yet, something imperceptible was missing. It was not in the manner of her leadership, or the conduct of the men and women who formed her senior staff. In that Nicole and Kathryn were similar. Yet there was a flaw in  Nicole Janeway that was absent from Kathryn.

Just one.

If he had ever doubted before his worth, his role and mission on his ship, he didn’t anymore. He could see how necessary his presence was on Voyager at the side of a woman who completed him in the most fundamental sense. They were successful on their vessel because Janeway and Chakotay were a team,  functioning as the head of the living, breathing animal that was Voyager, bound for home.

Nicole Janeway's team would only be completely successful if her husband were on the ship, by her side, forming the significant other in the partnership of Janeway and Chakotay. Again he experienced a deep sadness, realising with a pang that he felt it on her behalf.

He gave a huge sigh and then asked Kathryn if he could have a few minutes with Nicole Janeway. They had to be in the transporter room soon. He needed only a few minutes.

As soon as they were alone, Chakotay turned to face Nicole.

"You wanted to see me alone," he stated simply. He wanted to weep, for in her eyes he saw the same longing he had seen earlier in her daughter.

"H-how did you know?"

"It's something a peaceful warrior would sense, Nicole."

"You are so much alike, Chakotay. I miss him…especially now, seeing you."

"I am not him."

"I know. I am sorry. We…. The night before I left… He doesn't know about Katie."

"I understand. We have twenty three years to travel before we enter the Alpha Quadrant."

"I know," Nicole said in a voice filled with desolation. "Our Annika Hansen is as good as your Seven of Nine. It's a long time still to travel. Katie will be… Chakotay might have died by then..."

"Nicole, I believe we'll make it home sooner. You'll see your husband again."

"Right now, I'm not so sure, but I take courage that I've met the officers of another Voyager vessel bound for Earth. I take courage that they know at home we're on our way. Kathryn, I believe, has made certain of that just by her presence in my timeline."

"I have to go now. It's time. You have to be at the co-ordinates in fifteen  minutes and I have to be back on my ship in five. Goodbye, Nicole. I'm glad I have met you…"

He reached with his hand to greet her, but Nicole, like little Katie earlier, threw herself against him in a fervent hug. He hesitated a moment only before he clasped his arms round her. She clung to him for several seconds before she broke away. Her eyes were clear, peaceful.

"Thank you…"

"Before we go to the transporter room, I have something." He handed her a data chip and she frowned. "A message to your husband," he explained, "from the husband of another Janeway…"

Nicole smiled as she took the disc from him and slid it in a small pouch on her phaser belt. He realised they were still on yellow alert and remembered that his own ship was at the same status. Silently they made their way to the transporter room where he smiled at Mulcahy who gave him a quizzical look. Chakotay walked up to him and patted his hand briefly.

"Ensign, your counterpart is right now standing by to receive us in our transporter room. Go well."

"Thank you, sir."

He looked one last time at the people assembled in the transporter room. Annika Hansen who was looking strangely impassive, Mike Ayala who had a beatific smile, since the two boys Diego and Peter were there to see him off. Nick Locarno was manning the conn on the bridge but Tom Paris was clutching a few items probably gifted him by the pilot of the alternate vessel. Kathryn stood on the pad next to him. She glanced at him and smiled.

Nicole Janeway stood erect, hands at her side and next to her, her daughter who had been brought there by Sam Wildman who was ready to step in if the little girl became distraught again. At the moment Katie stood next to her mother, as erect as Nicole. He thought for a moment how Starfleet was already making its presence felt in the demeanour of the child. The tears, the distress, the sadness, he realised were gone. She looked thoughtful.

Too thoughtful, was the last thought on his mind as the glissando of the transporter beam surrounded him. He felt a minor sense of displacement. For a second or two he knew that he'd have no recollection of anything, of memory, of echoes, of people he knew, even the fear of his body broken down into atomic particles. Just the knowledge that he'd materialise on his own ship.

But the displacement remained. He looked around him and saw that everyone had gone - Tom, Ayala, Seven of Nine and Kathryn. In front of him stood a stunned Nicole Janeway with her daughter, Ayala's sons, Annika Hansen, Mulcahy the transporter technician whose mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

"Chakotay!"

"Papa!" cried Katie, rushing forward to hug him.

"What the hell…?" he asked softly as he realised he was still on the alternate Voyager, that the ship was already moving at high warp. His heart beat faster, erratically. The familiar sensation of displacement, of nausea was back. And with it, the fear - cold, cold fear that crept up his spine. 

"I cannot remain here. What have you done?"

"I'm sorry, Commander," it came from Ensign Mulcahy. "A slight glitch. It will take another ten - "

"Get me out of here, now!" He stepped off the platform, shrugging the child aside,  gripping Nicole Janeway's shoulders, and shook her hard. "Did you plan this? Did you? "

"No, I swear, I didn't plan anything, Commander. It's an accident. We've been having glitches the last few weeks…"

"Mulcahy, get cracking!" Chakotay urged the flustered young ensign. Then he shook Nicole again. "I swear by the living spirits if I don't get back to my ship -"

"I have no way of getting you back immediately, Commander.  It would take hours for Annika to determine the time and co-ordinates of the next rift, and without the temporal disc, it will take days…."

"You're talking like I have no choice but to go through the rift with you! Listen to me, Captain. Your husband is waiting for you back home. You will reach Earth. Admiral Chakotay will be by your side one day."

"Commander," Nicole started, trying to extricate herself from his grasp and succeeding only with difficulty. She was breathing hard by the time she wrestled herself from his grasp. "Once again I assure you, I did not plan this. I have no ulterior motive!"

"But your little girl - she thinks I'm her father. More than anyone here, you must understand how impossible that is."

Chakotay hit his commbadge, but found to his dismay that the configuration seemed to have changed. How did that happen? "Did you do this?" he asked when no one on his own ship responded.

"I told you - " Nicole Janeway began, joining Mulcahy at the transporter terminal and pressing some keys. "We have had glitches the last few weeks. It's not unknown to you - "

"Rollins to Janeway."

"Janeway here. How far are we?"

"One minute away from the aperture, Captain. We're almost there."

"Commander, I'm afraid this will take time. You'll have to go with us."

"Are you out of your mind? No! No!"

Katie had meanwhile wrapped her little arms around his legs, refusing to let go. If they were within range of the space-time matrix and they went through…Voyager he knew, was already at least fifty thousand kilometres away. They had it all planned. At the same time that the alternate Voyager moved towards the temporal rift, the real Voyager would detach herself like pulling gum off a bench and jump to warp in the opposite direction.

"Thirty seconds…"

Twenty seconds…

Chakotay, distressed, bent down to the little girl, his arms clutching her small shoulders. "I wish I had a little daughter just like you, Katie Janeway. I know you think I'm your daddy. I am not. My sweet child, I cannot go with you. I… just…can…not…go…"

"Five seconds…"

***

**On VOYAGER PRIME**

The moment Kathryn Janeway materialised on the platform of Voyager's transporter room, she realised instantly that Chakotay was missing. For a moment she looked distressed, allowing her mask to peel away. Then she glanced at Tom Paris and gave a wordless command. He dashed instantly to take his position next to Ensign Mulcahy at the transporter console.

They had it all planned. When the alternate Voyager moved towards the rift, they would jump to warp. Already they were almost fifty thousand kilometres away.

"Captain," Seven of Nine began, "Commander Chakotay…?"

"Seven, return immediately to Astrometrics. You will have to perform some unbelievable magic, but Commander Chakotay will forever be in your debt if all of you can pull this off. We have only a few minutes… You know what to do."

"Aye, Captain!"

Then Janeway sprang into action. Chakotay was gone. She had no reason to suspect Nicole Janeway of anything underhand, even if the so-called carrot was Chakotay. Her first officer had to remain in his own timeline or all hell would break loose.

Already the other ship was heading at warp speed towards the co-ordinates of the temporal inversion fold. In less than five minutes the aperture would appear and Chakotay would be lost to them forever.

"What now, Captain?" asked Ensign Mulcahy where he stood at the transporter control panel. His fingers hovered over the keys waiting for her command. Tom was already entering data.

"Janeway to Torres!"

"Torres here. What can I do, Captain?"

""Keep an open link with the transporter chief. Lock on to Chakotay on the other ship and beam him to these co-ordinates…" Janeway rattled off a sequence.

"Your ready room?"

"Mulcahy and Tom are ready to co-ordinate the beam-out with you. We have four minutes. Do it now!"

"Aye, Captain!"

Then she rushed out of the transporter room and headed for deck one as quickly as her legs could carry her. They had so little time…so little time! They were going to beam Chakotay to Voyager while both vessels travelled at warp six. Not impossible, but anything could happen.

Once, half a lifetime ago it seemed to her, Chakotay had called upon her crackerjack transporter experts to beam him off the Liberty in the dying seconds of that ship as it crashed into the Kazon vessel.

She was going to wait in her ready room and if all went well, she'd have her husband, friend, mentor and first officer back with her. It was unthinkable to continue effectively without her beloved by her side. Another Chakotay, lonely, melancholy, with the saddest demeanour she had ever seen in a man, had taught her that. They were a team - she and her Chakotay.

Down in Engineering, B'Elanna worked furiously to locate the precise position of Chakotay in the transporter room of the other vessel. It was touch and go. He seemed to be changing position very quickly, mostly likely fraught with tension and moving about.

"Paris to Torres. B'Elanna, what's taking you so long? Chakotay is going to haunt my dreams forever if we don't get him back."

"Tom, the moment I have a lock on Chakotay, you'll hear a beep on your console. Then you and Mulcahy beam him out, or I shall name my child Jabberwocky."

"What's happening down there, Lieutenant Torres?" Mulcahy asked, his fingers ready, resting just above the keys the moment B'Elanna had a lock on Chakotay.

"The man's moving all over that transporter room, it seems. Please, Kahless! Let the man stand still for five seconds?"

"Jabberwocky? B'Elanna, my love, how can you joke at a time like this?"

"Thirty seconds!" Mulcahy shouted. "If you don't get him now, we're sunk!"

"Oh, Lord…" Tom muttered as the seconds ticked their first officer out of existence. "B'Elanna, it's now or never…"

Twenty seconds.

A beep, a red light flashing. B'Elanna shouting "Got him!"

"Now!" Tom yelled.

Two pairs of hands slid effortlessly along the panels, pulling the control keys to the lower end of the panel.

"Transport complete."

Tom hit his commbadge. "Paris to Janeway. Do you have him, Captain?"

***

Janeway had no time to greet the remaining senior officers on the bridge as she hurried into her ready room and flicked on her vidcom.

Her heart raced  as she saw how close the other Voyager was to the rift. She could hear the countdown. Thirty?  She couldn't remember a time that Chakotay was not a part of her life. She  closed her eyes. As if it were she herself reliving the last moments of her life, images of Chakotay flashed before her.

The first time she'd seen him, so rugged, so masculine, so manly in his Maquis gear. She had been all captain then and his defence of her had been instinctive, elemental when B'Elanna had questioned her leadership.

The number of times they'd argued, debated, the times he'd openly stood against her if he thought she was making a bad decision. There had been times she'd seen the betraying despair in his eyes, when she knew that she offered so little in return for the bounty of his love.

The night she’d told him how she loved him, the wondrous feeling of peace that had suffused her entire being. Odd moments of Chakotay holding a flower in his hand, of Chakotay leaning against a rail, of Chakotay glancing at her while standing at a viewport looking at the streak of stars as Voyager traveled at warp, Chakotay pulling his face as Neelix plonked a plate of leeola root stew in front him, the sudden glance up to her face when she entered the mess hall to join him for lunch.

Chakotay as his face was transformed by a smile.

Chakotay as he gently pushed a strand of hair from her cheek.

She felt a sob rise from deep inside her at the thought that she would never see him again. Never feel the grace of his touch, the solace of it when a crewman died. Never hear his voice that always dropped to a huskier tone when he said her name. Never sense his hand near her elbow whenever they entered the mess hall together or stood in the presence of ministers and leaders of worlds they visited. Never hear the strength of his voice as he issued crew duties, or when he dressed down a hapless crewman for work haphazardly done.

She would never feel his skin against hers as they made love, or when they simply enjoyed lying together in bed.

Yes, she knew the grace of his touch and the thought of losing that grace terrified her. Here, in the privacy of her ready room she was stripped of her self-assurance - her fear, her despair lay exposed. She could no longer pretend. Chakotay was lost.

Gone. Despair clung like a limpet, sucking every ounce of hope from her.

She heard Chakotay's voice echoing from the first days…

_"She's the captain."_

Then, as surely as the fear and despair overwhelmed her, her resolve returned. She was not giving up!

Kathryn was about to hit her commbadge when she heard Tom's voice saying "Transport complete."

A soft, blue glissando of the transporter beam. Chakotay materialising, down on one knee as if he were in the middle of proposing, the look on his face one of pure desolation.

"Chakotay!"

He stared up at her, the momentary despair and confusion melting away as he saw her. There was instant recognition in his eyes as his face broke into a smile.

Yet, he had to ask, "What were the first words I said to you?"

_"How do you know my name?"_

He was still down on one knee, his arms outstretched. She fell down before him and launched herself into his arms.

"Ah, my Kathryn. I would have died without you by my side…"

She buried her face in his chest, shivering from the fear that had taken hold of her. When he rose to his feet he pulled her up with him, gazing deeply into her eyes, reconnecting, new echoes filling him - all the memories of their years together. With a sob he pulled her close to him.

"I almost lost you," she said. "But I would have turned that universe inside out to find you again, Chakotay."

Then Tom's voice again. "Paris to Janeway. Do you have him, Captain?"

Kathryn looked at Chakotay, smiled, kissed him briefly on his lips.

"Very much so, Tom. Very much so."

Then her commbadge beeped again. It was Harry Kim this time.

"Captain, the other Voyager has slipped through the temporal inversion fold in the space-time matrix. The aperture has closed again."

"Thank you, Ensign. Janeway out."

She gave a great big sigh.

"Another day in the life of Voyager," she said to Chakotay.

"What a day! But one very fine day it has turned out to be."

***

 

END CHAPTER 6


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

 

CHAPTER 7

**B'Elanna Torres on the Alternate Voyager**

"How do you feel?" B'Elanna asked the two boys.

"It was like getting to know my father all over again," Diego said. "I'm glad you didn't just let him see us from a distance, Mama. I guess I missed him a lot…in the beginning. But now…I was hoping he might return with us."

Peter remained quiet.

"And you? What do you say, Peter?"

"I wanted him to come with us. I will never see him again."

"I'm afraid not. He has his own children in his own reality to think of. He told me they could communicate with Earth and that his Diego and Peter missed him too."

"He couldn't come with us? I really liked him."

"People cannot just switch universes and stay here just as they like, Peter," she said softly.

Her own eyes were sad. She'd received an almighty shock when Mike appeared so suddenly in Engineering. They'd always been great friends and later had become lovers. His sons had called her 'Mama' even on the Liberty. But the Ayala of that reality was not hers, even if she felt like chaining him to their own timeline. He'd awakened old memories in her. No, he had his alliances on his own vessel. If it weren't for his sons, though… She gave a sigh.

"Why not?"

"Because we each belong in our own time and place. Everything we do or even don't do, impacts on the future of our timeline, remember? It doesn't matter how good or bad this universe is, we must make it a better place for us."

The boys nodded.

"But I am glad that I've seen him, Mama," Peter said. "He misses his boys; he must return to them."

"He told me that seeing you gave him great heart. It showed him what his own sons would be like when his ship returned home."

B'Elanna looked at Diego, who looked so like his father. Diego who’d cried himself to sleep every night for weeks because he'd seen his father ram the Liberty into the Kazon vessel.

"I'm glad I got to know him a little bit. But he belongs to his world."

"I knew you'd understand."

**

**Mike Ayala on Voyager Prime**

Standing on the bridge of Voyager after relieving Tuvok who had gone off duty, Ayala thought about his sons.

He had hope. That was the overwhelming feeling that filled him after he'd seen the boys who called B'Elanna Torres "Mama". He had told her he was glad that they had her as their mother and not the woman who had been his wife.

Selina had never been a very protective woman in the way he'd witnessed the maternal instinct kick in with young mothers, whatever their race. Like animal mothers, he had seen how they bared their teeth if their young were threatened. B'Elanna had sounded proud when she spoke of her sons. Selina had always found it comfortable just leaving the boys with her mother. She found motherhood stifling; she found marriage stifling. Her death, when it came, was accepted by the boys with a shrug.

B'Elanna had not only allowed him to see the boys, but after speaking to them, had allowed him time with them. They knew exactly who he was. He was not their father, and with that knowledge between them, they spent a good fifteen minutes together. He was bleeding inside. He remembered how he had missed his sons so much that it affected his work on Voyager. Now, seeing how tall Diego was for his twelve years, how handsome both boys were, how the strength of pending adulthood was already etched on their faces… He could see now what his own sons would look like, what they would be like.

Selina was nothing like her mother, the boys' grandmother, who took care of them. Dorinda Perez was kind, loving, critical of her daughter's lifestyle, sympathetic to the father who hadn't seen his sons in years. He knew what they sounded like, read their messages, detected the longing in them.

When was he coming home?

He couldn't say. But he was glad the burning longing for them had been assuaged by having seen and spoken with the sons of another Mike Ayala who had died a hero.

Ayala smiled to himself. No more displacement, just a calm peacefulness that filled his whole body.

****

**Nick Locarno on the Alternate Voyager**

He'd have something to tell his mother when he got home. If they made it home and if his mother was still alive. As a doctor on Bajor, she remained out of the public eye. His father had a wife, Tom's mother. Only thing was, Tom hated his guts. What for? For being the result of a side-affair between Owen Paris and Maris Locarno? 

He had to hate Tom. His half-brother who knew how dangerous and illegal the Kolvoord Starburst was. But he was no stranger to challenges and bets, either. Tom's bet rested on his failing. And like Tom, he was drawn to challenges, however outrageous.

He’d failed. When Cadet Joshua Albert died, Wesley Crusher and the rest of the Nova Squadron only lost their year's credits while he… Sighing, Nick pulled his thoughts away from that period. Expelled from the Academy he had nowhere to turn. Nick shook his head. Admiral Owen Paris - with two sons, both on a downward spiral. Disappointment had run deep in the old man. Nick eventually had found himself in jail while Tom… Nick couldn't decide if being a barfly in a seedy Marseille tavern was any better than doing time. Had Nicole Janeway not taken pity on him, believing he was still a great flyer, he would still be rotting in New Zealand.

Nick smiled inwardly. The Tom of the other reality had given him programmes he’d created for their Voyager's holodeck. He was going to enjoy playing pool in Sandrine's, being Captain Proton. Thomas Eugene Paris - bloody snot was a genius, and married to B'Elanna too.

Tom had also given him a message to show his counterpart. He'd watched it hours after Commander Chakotay had been beamed off their ship to join his own crew.  Now that some normalcy had returned to their own vessel, with the ship again into its old routine, Nick recalled the message of Tom to his counterpart.

_Hey…_

_I know you were instrumental in getting our captain Kathryn Janeway back to her own reality five years ago. That's just the kind of thing I would have done. Act first, count the costs later. It must have been liberating, right?_

_My old man forgave me. I'd hurt him something bad, but I changed. What do they say about men who change? There must be a woman somewhere involved there, right? Well, the woman in my life is B'Elanna Torres. We're having a baby very soon. I can tell you B'Elanna can be a virago at times, but she took me warts and all and scraped away some of them._

_Just wanted to tell you: B'Elanna Torres, the notorious Maquis your captain was sent to capture, can do the same for you. When Voyager is home, go and see her. Make a date. She is raising two sons. Not hers, mind you. They are Mike Ayala's boys, but she's the only mother they know. Yeah, look her up. She needs a Tom Paris in her life, even if I say so myself._

_Got to go. I have a  ship to take home._

Nick gave a sigh of satisfaction. Tom Paris was going to get one hell of a surprise when they got home.

***

**Tom Paris Voyager Prime**

The first thing he was going to do when they got home, no matter how long it took, was to look up Nick Locarno. He was certain, now more than ever, that Nick was related to him. He had been at loggerheads with his father for so long without understanding the old man, and he'd never ever understood what drove Owen Paris.

Now he knew. Guilt can drive anyone, and his father had not been exempted. It was a human failing when a man strayed from a perfectly good marriage. He didn't think Maris Locarno a vixen, just a young doctor who had fallen under the spell of Owen Paris.

With two sons going off the rails…what father would not be heartbroken?

There was reparation to be done when he got home, and he was going to go on his knees seeking forgiveness.

****

**Seven of Nine Voyager Prime**

Seven of Nine stood in front of a long mirror in the quarters Captain Janeway assigned to her whenever she felt the need for privacy. She ran her hands down her hips, the flat planes of her stomach, touched her bosom gently.

Then her fingers touched the two rank pips on the collar of her shirt. What did it matter if she wore teal or red or gold? The boots were regulation black, the heels no more than four centimetres high, a far cry from the high heeled boots she wore with her cat suits.

She admitted reluctantly that the uniform was an adequate fit. Pleasing, she amended. Even with the new boots she still appeared tall, haughty.

On the alternate Voyager, Annika Hansen had an approachable look, one that seemed to invite amiability. She had the ability to look wholesome as well as gracious and others of the crew were very friendly with her. There was none of the hesitancy that seemed to attack crewmen who approached Seven.

It was worth cultivating, Seven thought. But was it worth it at all? What would change about her? Only her mode of dress? What about her inherent, instinctive tendency to push away others? It had never bothered her before, why did it trouble her now? How would wearing a Starfleet uniform make any difference?

She imagined the reaction of crewmembers.

_"Why, Seven of Nine! Does that mean you've sheathed your claws as well?"_

_"Looking good, Seven. Now how about doing human-speak?"_

_"Nah…Seven, get thee into thy cat suit!"_

_"You have no business wearing that without the captain's permission, let alone Starfleet!"_

_"What, are you bucking for a field commission too?"_

_"Why, Seven…the uniform really suits you."_

_"Oh, dear, just when I've become used to seeing you in silver jumpsuits."_

She had no time to allow the opinions of others to sway any decision she wanted to make. Whatever they wanted to say, it wouldn't deter her one way or another. Since they already held such a blighted view of her, she could very well be walking about wearing a caftan.

She took a few steps back, then stepped forward again, testing the feel of the garment on her body.

"I am still Seven of Nine," she murmured reflectively. "Nothing has changed."

Then she calmly stripped off the uniform and minutes later she welcomed the silver cat suit that blended into her skin.

"There. Much, much better."

****

**Annika Hansen on the Alternate Voyager, bound for Earth**

She'd replicated the striking silver cat suit her counterpart wore on the other Voyager vessel. Now she stood in front of her mirror and stroked her body with her palms. She had been Annika for so long, she didn't know how to be Seven of Nine anymore.

Yet, Seven of Nine had been so proud when she spoke of her precious individuality, her identity, her uniqueness. Annika's eyes filled with tears as she touched her left temple gently. Only a softness remained from the implant that had been there, the one she had wanted to obliterate completely but couldn't quite succeed. Had she been so busy fitting in with life on Voyager that she forgot her distinctiveness which was what defined her?

She stared long at herself in the unfamiliar attire, the high heeled boots, the striking way in which the fabric enhanced the lines of her bosom. She tried to project a possible future after their return home. How would she be remembered? As just one of the Voyager crew or as Seven of Nine who was a member of the Voyager crew?

Sighing, she stripped the garment from her body and dressed in uniform again.

"I've been Annika Hansen too long…" she muttered.

****

**Nicole Janeway on the Alternate Voyager**

There had been that sudden, hopeful rush through her body when their transporter malfunctioned, leaving a despairing Chakotay behind. For a few brief, mad moments she'd thought he'd agree to stay. Why she entertained that particular thought in that moment could only be ascribed to a cowardly wish, she supposed, that she had her husband back.

Her rational mind knew it could never be. There could not be two Chakotays in her timeline. On some level she supposed it could, but somewhere a Kathryn Janeway was waiting for her husband.

How could a fault have crept in at such a critical moment? Katie had been over the moon. In her mind the man left behind on the transporter platform was her daddy. The one waiting at home was still only a memory, an echo or a figment. Admiral Chakotay was a hazy entity, a distant man her little girl only knew from stories and holovids. That man didn't even know a daughter existed.

But Chakotay, Kathryn's husband, displayed for a few heart breaking moments the extreme anguish she had experienced in the first weeks after they'd been trapped in the Delta Quadrant with no hope of getting home within a few days. Through Kathryn she'd learned that her Chakotay, back home in San Francisco was a sad, lonely man.

She couldn't see this Chakotay, Kathryn's husband go through the same thing.

Yet, as she'd looked at him and witnessed his torment, she knew finally how her own husband must have experienced the disappearance of his wife.

Katie had been inconsolable and it had taken a long chat with her in order for her to understand how she could not have the wrong man as her daddy, that her daddy was at home, waiting for them. Katie had not been much convinced. Gradually she'd come to accept that the Chakotay who'd  remained stunned on the transporter platform, who went down on one knee to try and explain to the child that he couldn't stay behind with them, was not her father.

Nicole had hardly had time to join Mulcahy behind the transporter console to try and beam Chakotay back before they passed through the rift, when suddenly he was engulfed in the transporter beam and dematerialised before their eyes.

One moment he was there with them, the next he was gone.

Now she sat in her command chair, with her first officer looking at her with some concern.

"I think Kathryn Janeway would have turned our universe inside out to get her husband back," he said.

"They certainly had the technology, remember?"

"True. But she's you, Nicole. The never give up, never surrender type I know too well."

"At least now I'm hopeful we'll make it home, perhaps sooner than we think."

****

**Kathryn Janeway on Voyager Prime**

She heard deep, pained moaning, like someone in a dream, a bad dream. Her eyes flew open. Chakotay was tossing restlessly, his forehead beaded with perspiration.

Kathryn braced herself on her elbow and caressed his cheek.

The moment she touched him, he woke. It was a slow, troubled emergence to wakefulness. He gazed about him, disoriented, a torturous look in his eyes. When he saw her, he sagged against the pillows, relief streaming through him.

"You dreamed."

"We were standing together on a beach, facing one another. Then you moved away from me, further and further away until I could not see your face anymore. I couldn't move. It felt as if the sand had turned into rock and my feet were chained to it."

"I am here, Chakotay."

"All around me the beach was deserted, an endless shoreline. I started walking…running…the chains kept me moving on the same spot."

Kathryn touched his face, moved her fingers along the lines of his tattoo. Just touching him would help bring him back to her, for he was far away, caught in the echo of a fear long gone. But Chakotay couldn't stop as his hand gripped hers tightly.

"All the time I was aware that you had gone, that I was never going to see you again. I tried breaking free. It seemed impossible. I called your name, over and over, but no sound issued from my mouth."

"It's over. I am here. I am your living echo. When you dream again, I will hear you call me."

"Kathryn?"

"Yes, it's me…"

"I despaired again. That moment on the other ship, when I was left behind, I experienced the anguish that Nicole's husband must surely have felt. Desolation lay before me like a barren wasteland stretching into forever."

"Your dreams are receding. It will go away eventually," she consoled him.

"I know," he said, sighing as he settled back and pulled her into his embrace. "I was a lonely man, Kathryn, until you came into my life. I will love you forever."

Kathryn gave a deep sigh as she too, drifted into sleep. Her last waking thought was how love sometimes can be too much to bear.

***

END


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